Bit of a Holiday
by Only Sometimes
Summary: “So, after SEVEN YEARS you decide to waltz back in, a bit drunk, at two in the morning! You’re legally dead, being missing for seven years!” “Legally, not literally, c’mon now, let’s focus on the positive..."
1. A Start

Okay, I decided to give full-blown stories another shot. This story is still in the making, I'm working on chapter four, so suggestions are welcome. This chapter is a bit of a prologue, if you will, setting up the rest of the story. I'll try to update fairly regularly, but can't really make any promises. Then again, if people hate it, I'll just straight up delete it because I'll probably hate it, too.

PS- this chapter mainly just sets the story up, like I said, so as it goes it'll get better. At least I think it does.

* * *

_Okay, deep breath. This will not be the end of the world. The possible end has come and gone, and it went rather quietly. _Ginny Weasley assured herself as she stared in the mirror in her small bedroom of the Burrow. She had done something…impulsive. And she had a feeling that her mum wasn't going to take it all that well.

_Although, you're not fooling me, Ginny Weasley. You are insane and not going to get away with this. And stop thinking at yourself! It's creepy! _her thoughts beleaguered, making her frown.

"Ginny! Hurry up! Breakfast is getting cold!" her mother's voice called from downstairs in the kitchen. It was the beginning of summer, Ginny had just graduated from Hogwarts, and Harry, Ron and Hermione were already, Ron's idea for them to get free breakfast, before the lunch that would be held in the backyard that afternoon, all family invited to celebrate Ginny's graduation.

The night before was what had gone so wrong. Having gone out with a few fellow graduates, she made a rather impulsive decision. She knew she was in trouble, but even through she knew it, Ginny Weasley realized that she could get through this, she just had to stand her ground.

"Coming!" she called, giving herself a reassuring nod via her reflection and started down the stairs.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and her dad were already eating, and none really looked up at her as she came in, her mother still frying away at the stove, seeming in good spirits.

"Morning all, by no means, don't get up." Ginny waved, sitting down at her place right across from Harry. She tried not to look at him, which was easy when she was eating. She didn't know what they were. Right after the war, they were definitely together, and then Ginny went back to school and they didn't see each other as much, and even though they never said anything, they didn't seem to be together.

"Want some bacon, Gin?"

"Please, Mum."

"Alright, here you--what is _that?!_"

"Erm--"

"Is it what I think it is?!"

"Well--"

"Is that what you and your little friends did to celebrate last night?! Oh, you are in _so much _trouble!"

"What?! How is that fair?! Look at what Bill has!"

"That doesn't mean anything! YOU are in trouble!"

Not even Ron was eating at this point, all eyes were on the two Weasley women, staring each other down, the bacon still hovering between the two as the serving spell had not been completed. Hermione turned a distinct shade of pink as she was not quite sure what to do, Harry just looked away, Ron didn't seem to know that his mouth was open as he watched, and Arthur just let his head rest in his hands as he saw a meltdown on its way.

"Take it out." Molly stated, going back to her cooking, letting the bacon just hover.

"No." Ginny responded, not sure if she was being brave or completely idiotic.

"_What?"_

"I'm 18, beyond being of age, I've graduated, I'm looking for my own flat soon, I will not take it out."

All eyes, minus Ginnys, slid over to her nose and stared at the little shiny thing resting in her nostril that was causing this. A small, red stone, just a colored rhinestone, actually, was in there, watching the chaos it had created.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley! I will not tolerate this! TAKE THAT THING OUT!"

"NO! I'M OF AGE, I LIKE IT, AND IT'S MY FACE!"

"THIS IS MY HOUSE, AND I WILL NOT TOLERATE THE MARKING OF A SCARLET WOMAN IN MY DAUGHTERS FACE! TAKE IT OUT OR GET OUT!"

Ginny looked around the kitchen, looking for some support. No one would make eye contact with her.

"So that's how it is? I get a little nose ring and suddenly I'm not part of this family?" Ginny questioned, still looking at the people around her.

"Basically." Molly bluntly stated, crossing her arms.

"Well, that's just too bad, because the _stud stays_."

"Then I'm afraid you don't." Mrs. Weasley stated, very simple, very matter-of-fact.

"You mean I have to leave? I haven't found a flat yet!" Ginny gaped.

"Consider this a chance to go on a bit of a holiday."

"A forced holiday!"

"A holiday that gives you a chance to grow up."

"When can I come back?" Ginny whimpered, suddenly feeling the weight of the situation.

"When you've grown up!"

There was a very thick silence in the room at that moment. Mr. Weasley had his hands cupping his face as his elbows resting on the table, Hermione was staring at her toast, Harry watched as his thumbs were moving, twiddling, if you will, and Ron just watched, his mouth still open.

Molly continued to cook.

_I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do! _Ginny's mind was screaming, but she was determined to stay calm on the outside.

"Well, fine then. I guess I'll just go." Ginny stood up, stepped around the bacon that remained levitating, and headed for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Molly questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I--I'm going to get some of my stuff."

"Your stuff? No, no, my house, my stuff."

"So I just have to go with the clothes on my back?"

"Yes."

"Fine!"

Ginny turned from the stairs and went to the front door, trying extremely hard to be angry more than frightened, but she didn't exactly know what was happening, much less what she was going to do.

She made it to the door.

"Isn't anyone going to stop me?" Ginny called out, in a panic at this point.

"No," Molly stated, staring down the people in the kitchen, now perched in her seat, holding a steaming cup of coffee that was too burning to be drank, but did add to the drama of the moment.

"Good, then! I'll just be going! And I won't be back until I'm an adult!"

"Have fun, dear. Have yourself a bit of a holiday, then."

_Six Hours Later_

"Why isn't she back yet?!" Molly wailed, sitting at the table in her backyard, her husband trying to console her.

All around, her sons and their partners, and her granddaughter Victoire, along with Harry and Hermione looked quite uncomfortable. They had all expected Ginny to be back by now, have a bit of a tantrum for about thirty minutes, come back in, and act like nothing had happened, minus the nose ring. The only problem was she still wasn't there.

"She's missing her own party!" Molly continued to wail.

"Dis iz a bit rude, Victoire had better not 'ave in'erited dis." Fleur testily commented as she looked around the defunct party.

"The public wailings or the missing of the own party?" Percy mumbled back, hoping that no one would hear him but his sister-in-law.

"Both." Fleur stated, daintily sipping her butterbeer.

Luna Lovegood's oversized eyes watched as her friend continued to weigh her options at the Lovegoods kitchen table, as she had for the past two hours.

"I can't go back, Luna, I just can't. I spent four bloody hours just walking around, and now I'm somewhere, I know I need to go somewhere else, but I can't go there. Y'know?" Ginny asked, her hair stuck to her face with tears.

"Actually, I have no clue what you're saying, but I'm sorry you're so upset about it." Luna stated affectionately.

"I saw them and I just knew that I couldn't stay there, and I'm so far from finding a flat! I don't know, the way my mum just let me leave, and no one, and I do mean NO ONE would stand up for me! I was alone and all over this stupid nose stud!"

"Are you going to take it out?"

"Of course not, I like it."

"I'm pretty sure I'm missing the point, Gin."

"The point? The point is I have no place to live, no money. No clothes, even. No chance. What am I going to do, Luna? WHAT?"

Luna paused to think, the Ravenclaw in her showing why she was sorted where she was.

"Well, Daddy and I are about to go to Glasgow, you can come with us. And we'll go from there."

"Glasgow? Scotland? Yeah, that works. Thanks, Lu." Ginny looked up from the crook of her arm where her face had been hiding as she dealt with the reality of what was happening to her.

Glasgow, Scotland. With the Lovegoods. Kinda like a holiday. Well, it was a start.


	2. With the Help of Liquid Courage

I thought I'd be posting later than I am, but what can I say? I'm a review slut. Plus, I've written more than expected. And to answer a few questions...

Ginny does have her wand, but magic really isn't the emphasis of the story, although, obviously, it does play a part.  
It kinda follows the epilogue, but not in every way. I take some characters and ideas from it, but don't follow it to a T.  
There is some small romance going on, but I'm terrible at writing romance (not the romantic type myself) so there's more of a look at other relationships besides ones that give googley feelings.  
The rest of the questions are answered as the story goes on, and I gotta say, good questions. They've all had an impact on later chapters.

And a big thanks for reading and especially reviewing! It totally makes my day. :)

* * *

_Turn the knob, Ginny. That's how doors work, you turn the knob and push, and it swings open and you step in and then you start this life back up and everything becomes hunky-dory. _Ginny Weasley thought to herself. The last time she was on this doorstep she was on the verge of tears, eighteen, and had been rejected from her family, as far as she could tell, due to a nose stud.

Seven years later, the nose ring was now accompanied by a few more piercings and a few tattoos, along with stories that were meant for bars, not family homes, but she was at the latter, not the former.

With a deep breath, Ginny grabbed the door knob. With an even deeper breath and a bit of prayer, it turned, and finally, with a feeling of boldness that not even she was sure was possible, she pushed it open and stepped in the doorway.

"I'M HOOOOME!" she yelled at the absolute top of her voice. Instantly she wished she had double checked that her family still lived there before hand. Also, it didn't help that it was two in the morning, their time, Ginny was on a completely different clock. Not a different time zone, she had hopped time zones so many times that she didn't follow a standard internal clock anymore.

She walked around the front room as she heard what she could only hope was her parents scramble from their bedroom to the noise. The house hadn't really changed, the pictures were different, and the old clock that told where everyone was now had a few more hands to it. As it had for the past seven years, Ginny's hand just kept spinning round and round, unsure what exactly she was up to, much like the person it represented.

"Ginny! Gods! It is you!" Ginny spun on her heel to face her two bewildered parents, as usual her mother the one doing the talking, staring at her in their bedclothes, her fathers glasses askew, and streaks of grey in her mothers hair.

"Hullo!" Ginny chirped happily, ecstatic to see them. It had been a very, very long journey working her way back to the Burrow.

"Where the hell have you been?!" her mother asked sharply.

As if on cue, there was a rush from the fireplace and the cracking sound of people Apparating. All around her, her now adult brothers appeared, all in nightclothes, wands drawn.

"What? Did you tell them I broke in? Because that's just not fair, the door's unlocked." Ginny said, before her brothers even realized was going on.

"Actually, we have an alarm system, alerts them when someone comes in without warning." Arthur explained, surprisingly calm for the situation.

"Really? Why? I thought all the big bads were dead, or are they making a comeback?"

"No, the neighborhood kids have been throwing rocks at the house."

"Are you serious? It's an awful long bike ride to get here."

"They seem to think it's worth it."

"Brats."

"Yes, they're almost as bad as CHILDREN WHO DISAPPEAR FOR SEVEN BLOODY YEARS AND THEN COME BACK WITHOUT WARNING AFTER NO WORD OR WARNING!" Molly finally exploded.

All around her, Ginny could see her brothers trying to figure out what was going on.

"Good to see you, too, Mum. Oh, I've been everywhere, it was wonderful, how have you been?"

"Seven _years_, Ginny! Seven! Do you know how long that is?"

"Well, if there's no leap year, 7 times 365 would be…2550--no, 2555 days. Although I doubt you're being as literal as I am, I'm not gonna lie, it took a wee bit of liquid courage for me to come here."

"So, after SEVEN YEARS you decide to waltz back in, a bit drunk, at two in the morning! You're legally dead, being missing for seven years!"

"Legally, not literally, c'mon now, let's focus on the positive. It was just a bit of a holiday! That turned really super long!" Ginny replied, regretting her decision to return. "You're right, you're right, I should go. This was a bad idea, I'm a bit drunk, and you're angry, and all of you look…awful. I mean, really. Buy new pants to sleep in, Ron, showing up at your parents place in your skivvies, I'll just go."

Ginny once again whirled on her heels, this time almost falling, and to face the door. She was about to take a step when a hand that was much larger than she remembered grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Oh no you don't," Charlie had his hand on her still as she spoke, "you're not doing that again."

"Charlie! How good of you to come! Have you always had gigantic hands?"

"Off to bed with you, you're not leaving again."

"Ever?"

"Maybe."

"This is drastic."

"You are drunk."

"I am! And I can still do maths! I'm a skilled drunk!"

"Er, sure. Gin, tomorrow, you will definitely regret all this, but I'd be lying if I said that this is not a highly amusing way to come back into the family."

"Aw, that's sweet, Charlie! Where are we going?"

"We are going upstairs, to your room, where you are going to sleep tonight, and possibly for awhile."

"It'll be nice to sleep in a bed, Charlie, don't tell Bill, or Percy, or George…you can tell Ron, but I'm pretty sure you're my favorite. Oh, shite! They're all here! Do you think they heard me?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure. That's why you're going to sleep this off, into your room you go, now crawl into bed, and try not to vomit on anything with sentimental value."

"Thanks, Charlie."

"Not a problem, Ginny."

"And Charlie?"

"Yeah, Gin?"

"Will you always be this nice to me when I'm drunk?"

"How often are you drunk?"

"Well, that is a dangerous question, so I'm just gonna sleep now."

Charlie Weasley quietly closed the door, and headed back to his stunned family.

"Committed." was the first thing he heard upon returning, and it was of course said by his youngest brother, Ron.

"Now, that's just not fair." George responded, "Eight years, you can have her committed, but seven? Too extreme."

"Don't forget, she's also intoxicated." Percy pointed out, his glasses askew from the dash to get there, missing George's joke completely.

"I'm sure once we talk to her she'll explain what's really happened and everything will work itself out." Bill stated, always the oldest, wisest, optimist.

"I dunno," Charlie sighed, remembering what she had said about the dangerous question over her sobriety, "I think she might need a bit more help than talking."

"She's gonna flip her lid when she finds out about Harry." Ron pointed out, his voice almost sounding pleased.

"Oh, Merlin, that's gonna be a problem." Arthur sighed, dreading the thought.

"Well, it's her own damn fault!" all the Weasley men jumped at their mothers casual swearing, "If she didn't want him marrying someone else, she shouldn't have disappeared for seven bloody years!"

There were mumbles and nods of agreement. Ginny Weasley had amazing timing. After waiting seven years, with no contact of any kind to her friends or family, she had shown up out of nowhere, with the wedding of her ex-boyfriend right around the corner and set to be held in the backyard of her parents home.


	3. Like Your Name, But Shorter

Oooh, reviews, reviews, reviews. How I love thee. Seriously, I really appreciate you guys sticking with the story. It makes writing it way more fun.

And I've been using the wikipedia site to keep up with facts, trying to keep everything straight, but if it's not on there, I made it up. Artistic license, yo.

* * *

_Sweet Merlin, I'm going to rip my own head off just to make it stop hurting. _Ginny's thoughts decided as she woke up the next day. Her eyes took a minute to adjust to the light as the world around her slowly became clear.

It was a very familiar place where she woke up, despite not having been there for years. The walls remained yellow, and the Weird Sisters poster was still up, despite having faded quite a bit.

_Gods, I hate you, Ginny. I should punch you in the face, but I know it'll hurt me, too. _Ginny's brain stated. Ginny looked at herself in the mirror, her hair was a mess, piled on her head in a messy bun of knots, her make up smudged from the day before, her nose stud still in, now accompanied by a lip ring, which she was pretty sure could be ripped out at any moment by a vigilante mother.

"Lookin' good." she told herself, chuckling a bit. Her white tank top wasn't even hers, it was ill fitting and had stains that were hopefully just alcohol. Her black jeans were too tight and ripped, and she had slept in her shoes. "Now to face the lions."

She went down the stairs, hoping to find the house abandoned so as to make an easy escape, instead, she found the opposite. At the very bottom of the stairs, sitting and gossiping away, undoubtedly about her, was a woman she didn't recognize holding a girl who looked to be about a year and half, talking with Angelina Johnson from her own house back in school, holding a sleeping baby.

Their conversation instantly ceased when Ginny came into view. Awkwardly aware of what was happening, Ginny raised a hand in greeting.

"'Morning," she said, forcing a small smile.

"It's five o'clock." the unknown woman stated, gaping at her, as Angelina just stared.

"In the evening?"

"Yes…"

"Oh." Ginny took a moment to process this, she had slept more than she realized, "Evening. Who are you?"

The woman was obviously taken aback, as she seemed to feel that she belonged far more than this intruder.

"I'm Aubrey, your sister in law." the woman said, her tone showing a bit of disgust, "I'm married to Percy."

"Ah! That explains quite a bit. Please forgive my manners, and smell, I have a terrible hangover and have not showered in approximately a month."

"That's disgusting!" Aubrey gasped, taken aback.

"Yes, yes it is. Cute kid. My niece?"

"Unfortunately."

"Well, I'm sorry if you didn't want children, but that's no way to act about it in front of her." as she said this, Ginny stalked off toward the kitchen.

"That's not what I--" the woman called after her, but Ginny paid no mind.

In the kitchen was her mother, as expected, along with Hermione, Fleur, Victoire, another woman Ginny didn't recognize, and a couple small children she didn't know.

"You're alive." Molly stated, not turning away from her cooking.

"Not legally, but yes." Ginny responded, pretending that everyone was staring at something right behind her. "Did I bring a couple bags in with me last night? I can't recall, and since they have all my worldly possessions, I kinda need them."

"You left them on the doorstep last night. I threw out the bottles, and most of your clothes are drying or in the wash. How on earth did you acquire so many wands?"

"I gamble. Why'd you go through my stuff?"

"Just trying to figure out where you've been."

"That works, although asking would have worked. Is everyone here?"

"The whole family gets together on Fridays for dinner."

"Every Friday?"

"Every Friday."

"And it's five in the evening, your time?"

"Uh, yes…"

"Right, I'm gonna shower, if that's all right, I haven't had one for, like, a month."

"Then by all means, go ahead. I'll send your clothes to your room."

"Thanks, Mum."

"Mm."

If Molly had turned around at all during this conversation, she might have seen that Ginny had a lip ring, having missed it in the dark before, or the sun tattooed on her left wrist, but Molly Weasley missed all that as she was absolutely determined not to look at her only daughter until she absolutely had to.

Ginny worked her way back up the stairs, waving out the back window to where the males of the family were standing around a grill as her father attempted to work a muggle grill. He waved back, still slightly puzzled by the whole situation.

Back upstairs, Ginny scrubbed herself raw in the shower. It was true, she hadn't had a shower in about a month, she'd been traveling with a circus in Romania, and they only had buckets and the occasional real bathtub to bathe in. Except for last month, when a hotel owner had let them use the showers at his place. That had been a good day.

Ginny scrubbed and scrubbed, washed her hair multiple times, and then took her time getting dressed. Her skin had dried out from the scrubbing, and she hadn't had a good brush for her hair for months, having traded her last one for a sandwich. The last job she held down was a strange one.

Clean and in completely clean clothes for once, Ginny gave herself a once over. Her jeans had minimal rips, her black t-shirt had no stains, at least that she could see. Since her hair was finally clean and brushed, she left it down, surprised at the difference in color that shampoo could make, it no longer looked so brassy but more red and golden. She put on make up, skipping the eye liner as she wasn't in the mood to be called a scarlet woman, and headed downstairs.

All conversation stopped when she entered, everyone around the table in the living room, the only room big enough to hold them all. A smaller table filled with children was in the kitchen.

"Thanks again for the laundry, Mum." Ginny said, trying to be okay with the tension in the room. "Not a problem, I saved you a plate. It's in the kitchen, sitting in the oven." Mrs. Weasley said rather stiffly as she stared down the now visible lip ring.

"Well, I'll just go eat in the kitchen, there doesn't seem to be room for me here, and it would really cut down on the conversation you're all having about me." with a small salute, Ginny bowed out of the room. She heard her father chuckle under his breath right before the floodgates of conversation were once again opened.

In the kitchen Victoire was sitting in a seat, the little girl Aubrey had been holding was sitting in a high chair, next to her was a little boy she didn't recognize in another highchair, a third little girl that Ginny gathered was related to Victoire was sitting right next to her, and the baby Angelina had been holding was in a swing in the doorway.

"Hi," Ginny said, getting her food out and not burning herself thanks the calluses she'd gained from several of her past jobs. "I'm pretty sure I'm the aunt of all of you, I'm Ginny." she said, sitting down across from the little girl she didn't know.

"I'm Dominique, Victoire's sister. Why haven't I met you?" the unknown child questioned.

"Well, aren't you precocious." Ginny said through a forced smile.

"Don't you mean precious?" the little girl asked.

"I know what I said. And who are the little ones who don't talk yet?"

"That's Freddie, in the swing, he's Uncle George and Aunt Angelina's baby," Victoire started, cutting her sister off, "Marty is in the chair, he belongs to Uncle Charlie and Aunt Jana, next to him is Uncle Percy and Aunt Aubrey's, Molly."

"Oh, so Percy named his daughter after Mum, that's nice. And by nice I mean kinda odd. Hello, Miss Molly, I'm Aunt Gin. Can you say Gin?"

"Kin!"

"I'll take that. So, Vic, Nikki, what do you do for fun?"

"Those aren't our names," Dominique pointed out, looking scandalized.

"Yes, I know, they're nicknames, shorter versions of your own names." Ginny explained, tearing her food apart and devouring it as she talked. It took he a few minutes to pick up her silverware as she had gotten out of the habit of using it.

"But my name is Dominique." the little girl still sounded a bit disgusted.

"I know, Nikki," Ginny hid her smile as she did this, but the little girls older sister didn't bother.

"That's not my name!" she finally wailed, getting up and running from the table to her mother.

"You're gonna get in trouble," Victoire pointed out, highly amused.

"I know, but it's so worth it." Ginny grinned, trying to reacquaint herself with a fork.

Ginny spent the next two blissful moments devouring as much food as she could, which ended up being most of the plate, before the inevitable aftermath found it's way over to her.

"Bill, talk to 'er!"

"I just don't think it's a big deal, Fleur!"

"Your daughter iz upzet! Talk to your zister!"

"Fine! Fine! Hey, Gin! Can you get in here!"

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go be chastised." Ginny said to a giggling Victoire, and two toddlers who had managed to completely cover themselves in mashed potatoes.

On her way out the door, little Freddie raised his arms up, smiling away. Grinning, she picked him up.

"Heavy little guy, aren't ya? How old are you? Nine months or so? C'mon, drooling's no proper answer."

"Ginny," Bill sighed as the whole room watched, waiting to see what would happen as Fleur looked quite peeved and Ginny gently bounced the delighted baby on her hip, "Did you call Dominique by a bad name?"

"I called her Nikki, for short. I don't think it's a bad name. One of my coworkers in Phoenix was named Nikki, and she's awesome. Bakes constantly, real sweetheart."

"'Er name iz Dominique!" Fleur interjected angrily, the little girl mimicking her expression of distaste.

"Actually her name was Nicole. Hey, Ange, the wee one seems a bit wet, where's his nappy bag?"

"Oh, I'll get him," Angelina said, sitting next to her husband who was trying to hide the fact that he was laughing at Fleur's state by covering his mouth with a napkin, much like several other people at the table.

"Nah, I'll get him, you finish eating, I've done this a million times," Ginny waved the girl up, as her family looked up at her a bit surprised. They weren't used to people willing to change diapers.

"If you insist, the bags in the master bedroom." Angelina looked a bit shocked, in all the nine months her son had been around, not even her own husband had been willing to change him when they didn't have to.

Having taken care of the problem that often plagues babies, Ginny and Freddie remained on the floor, where Ginny laid on her stomach and Freddie on his back, gurgling away while his aunt talked to him.

"Freddie, this might sound crazy, but I didn't even think about you and the others…existing. Isn't that strange? I knew I'd had this big crazy life, but I never really thought about the family moving on. It's nice, though. I mean, Ron and Hermione seem determined not to speak to me, but finding you has been a delight."

"Brrrfffft."

"Yeah, I think you get it."

"Hey, thanks for changing him," Angelina stated from the doorway. She seemed a bit uncomfortable, for she knew how the rest of the family was taking Ginny's arrival back in to the family.

While they loved her and wanted her around, there was also the feeling of resentment as she had missed out on so much and seemed perfectly fine wit that. But as far as Angelina could tell, all that had happened was one bad decision after another on Ginny's part, and now she was here to make it all up best she could.

"Oh, no, it's no problem. I mean, it's gross, but he's such a happy little baby, I don't mind the time alone with him," Ginny cooed the last part at the squealing baby, who joyously grabbed his feet in a way that only a baby could.

"I just want you to know, George and I, even if he's not sure how to show it, we're glad you're back."

"Jeez, Ange, you just might flip if I watch him and let you two have a date night if I get that just for changing a diaper."

"Ginny, I don't think they're giving you a fair shake, things are going to be rough on you for awhile, I know it, and they--the rest of the family, well, they're just really hurt and upset, and angry. They're leaving you in the dark on quite a few things."

"Like what?" Ginny sat up at this statement, scooping that baby into her arms and setting up where he could play with her hair.

"Harry's engaged."

"Oh." Ginny stood up, careful not to jostle the baby, "Well, thanks for telling me," she said, passing him on to his mum and stepping out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Angelina asked, a bit worried for Ginny's sake.

"I'm just going to get an after dinner drink," Ginny said with an easy grin and a wave to her nephew as she stepped out of the room to her parents old liquor cabinet.


	4. You Don't Look Romanian

This is a redo of the fourth, I just noticed a little mishap in the facts of the story and decided to take matters into my own hands. Hate that I lose the old author's note, though (I'm irresponsible and never save them). BUT thanks so much for all the reviews! I'll be more grateful in the later chapters, promise.

* * *

_Air, air, I am in desperate need of air. _Ginny's mind was demanding. She was two drinks in, and working on her third. _Firewhiskey is better than I remember, although it's no Tuica. _she thought, fondly remembering the Romanian drink.

Quietly as she could, Ginny slipped out the back door to the porch, curling up in the lawn chair on the edge facing the overflowing garden. A few curios gnomes made their way over, but Ginny just ignored them. When she felt the coast was clear, she reached deep into her pocket and grabbing hold a cigarette and smoked away, relishing in the relaxation it brought her. She was gonna need it.

"We're here!" a small voice announced from the front door, and Teddy Lupin marched into the Burrow, closely followed by his godfather and his godfather's fiancée. Greetings were said, but two people were busy with their own conversation.

"Go, talk to her!" Angelina prodded, poking her sister in law in the ribs a few times. Hermione just frowned at her, unable to retaliate not only because of her nature but because Angelina had wisely approached her while holding Freddie.

"Fine!" she finally huffed. She snuck out of the house, out to the back where her once good friend was sitting.

The air was warm, but Hermione still felt a chill. There was something eerie about the way Ginny had changed, and now, sitting there, her back to Hermione, taking a long drag from her cigarette, Hermione realized she could have run into her before and never realized.

"You gonna just watch me or talk to me?" Ginny broke the silence, shaking a gnome off her foot.

"I--I'm, uh, Ginny, I'm really mad! At you!" Hermione sputtered. Ginny still didn't turn around.

"Yeah, I figured as much."

"You've missed everything! Everything! Ron and I got married! LAST YEAR! We got sick of waiting for you to return." Hermione said defiantly, crossing her arms, knowing she'd hit a nerve. Ginny turned around very slowly, her eyes narrowed, and the cigarette hanging from her slightly parted lips.

"And how long did you spend looking for me?" she asked, her voice husky from the smoke.

"What?"

"How long. Did you. Look. For me." Ginny repeated, slowly.

"I--we--I mean, that's not fair!" Hermione sputtered, her face once again glowing red.

"That's what I thought. Face it, Hermione. The past seven years have been a mutual 'screw you,' to put it lightly. I got engaged myself."

"What happened? Did he leave you?" Hermione felt meaner than usual, already frustrated with the attempt to reconcile.

"Sort of. He died. Knew it was coming when we got engaged, he was a muggle with an inoperable brain tumor, or some bullocks like that. Tried all the magic I could, this was when I was living in Phoenix, working as a piercer at the tattoo shop he worked at. Even tried the strongest potions you can think of, some you won't, learned 'em all in China. Couldn't help him though…His name was Sonny, isn't that the happiest bloody name you've ever heard in your whole damn life?" Ginny wasn't looking at her once friend, just staring off to the other side of the yard, Hermione couldn't tell if her eyes were shining from the lights or if tears had come up.

"Ginny--"

"I really don't need your sympathy, Hermione, but I wouldn't mind it if you went and refilled my glass." Ginny cut her off, much to the relief of Hermione who hadn't known what to say to begin with. Against her better judgment, she took the drink in the house for a refill.

In the house, Hermione was immediately off put by the tension in the house. No one had told Harry of Ginny's arrival yet, and no one seemed to want to.

"Ah! Hermione! How've you been?" Harry asked her, eager to get away from Ron who was thinking harder than anyone should, trying to figure out what to say to his best friend.

"Ginny's back!" Hermione blurted, and then instantly slapped her free hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. "Sorry!" she squeaked, as the whole room seemed to throw their hands up and look to the ceiling in frustration.

"Surprise, Harry, ol' boy. For your wedding present, we thought it'd be nice to have your old flame come back, this is especially nice for you Hil, so why don't we all celebrate this arrival by talking about the weather and not making eye contact!" George suggested, bouncing his son on his hip as he did, much to the boy's delight.

The room filled with some genuine, but mainly uncomfortable laughter at this, particularly from the petite, blue eyed, blond haired fiancée of Harry. She was slim and delicate, with the build of a ballerina and she was now in an interesting situation. The Weasley's had taken her in as a member of the family from the start, but now the dynamics had all changed.

"Dis is 'orrible!" Fleur fumed to her husband, she much preferred Hilary to Ginny.

As quietly as she had slunk out, Ginny slunk back into the house, wanting to know what the hell had happened to her drink. Finding the room filled with awkward laughter, she wasn't too shocked to see Harry standing with his arm around the waist of a cute little blonde. Her features were sharper than Fleur's, and she was shorter, but instantly Ginny had an extra grudge against her for looking like her at all.

Ginny knew she had two options: run away again or face the moment of truth. Only one of these allowed her to get back to the alcohol. So with a shrug, she stepped into the room with the goal of grabbing the bottle Hermione had been cut off from.

"Hi, Harry." she said, casual as her voice was capable of.

"Hi," he squeaked back, as the young woman he was with watched with nervous eyes as the redhead just stood there, looking at both of them.

"Could you move please? You're blocking the firewhiskey." Ginny requested, throwing Harry for another loop. The first question he was expecting was more along the lines of 'do you still hate me?' not 'could you get away from my alcohol? 'Kay thanks.'

"Right," Harry managed to get out, and the pair of them slipped away from cabinet.

With nothing but what seemed to be self confidence, Ginny filled another glass, as Hermione still had her original glass, and took a sip. She didn't even wince at the aftertaste.

"How rude of me," Ginny started after taking a drink of what confidence is made of, "I'm Ginny." she extended her hand to the most nervous looking person she thought she could ever hope to see.

"Hilary," the nervous thing squeaked. Instantly Ginny was flooded with the memory of the Chihuahua dog that used to hang around the tattoo parlor in Phoenix, the one that was known for grabbing tacos from the little cart salesman who stayed right down the block and running down the road, the whole thing in it's mouth.

"Never had you pinned for the firewhiskey type, Gin," her father said as a way to break the silence and take some of the attention away from Hilary. He really was fond of her.

"I'm not, really. I much prefer Tuica, but that's kinda hard to find outside of Romania." she answered, swirling her glass as she drank.

"What?" someone asked, it was a bit difficult to tell who was speaking in the crowd.

"Chew-EE-kuh," Charlie offered, giving Ginny a small smile, "it's a Romanian drink, made of distilled plums." Ginny smiled back, she had almost forgotten Charlie had been in the country for so long.

With that, some little conversations started up, but Harry and his fiancée continued to stare at the once lost redhead.

"Hilary and I are engaged." he finally said, defiant in his tone.

"I heard. Must compliment you on the alliteration, it's quite adorable. Can we expect your children to be named Henry and Hannah?" Ginny asked into her drink. A stiff silence quickly followed.

"So do you speak Romanian?" Hilary asked, a bit too enthusiastic in her desperation to change the subject. She was a friendly person and terrified at the thought of losing the favor of those who were so close to Harry just because their biological daughter had sauntered back into town.

"Enough to get around. I was there for not quite two years." Ginny answered, feeling Charlie watch her along with his wife, who she hadn't even met yet.

"Could I hear some? Please? I've never heard it before." the blond requested, smiling tentatively. Harry beamed at her.

"Well, alright," Ginny started, thinking for a moment of what to say. "Eu spun numai acest pentru a fi drãguþ, eu de fapt sper sã vã sufocaþi ºi sã muriþi." She could hear Charlie and his wife both stiffen a laugh.

"Ooh, what's it mean?" the girl asked, her eyes wide.

"It means: It is very nice to meet you, please join me for a drink." Ginny lied.

The rest of the night, Harry and Hilary steered clear of Ginny, much to her relief, as they tried to act natural. It was relatively calm besides that, and those with children turned in early after receiving coffee and dessert, all of them promising to be back next week.

Charlie and his wife let Ginny get away with actually saying "I am only saying this to be nice, I actually hope you choke and die." to Harry's fiancée.


	5. What? No Pineapple?

Hello, lovelies! Lucky for all of you, I'm dealing with a bout of insomnia, so I'm writing away. And lucky for me, so many of you review. Makes me feel all tingly inside. :)

This chapter starts revealing more of what happened in that long gap Ginny was missing, which you can expect more of as the story goes on. Also, it maps out all of Ginny's tattoos, and before you roll your eyes at one person having so many, know that each one reveals something else and helps tell her own story. They do sound a bit extreme, but hey, an ex boyfriend of mine has _sleeves_. True, he is an idiot, but that doesn't mean multiple tattoos are a total stretch, even for a HP character.

* * *

_Oh, give up, _Ginny's mind scolded, _you and I both know you're up for the day. C'mon. It's only…5:30 on a Saturday. Cripes, this sucks. _

"Ugh," Ginny grumbled to herself. She could not sleep, despite the all night attempts. She would never admit it, but seeing Harry with another girl was a bit more frustrating than she had anticipated. Even four glasses of firewhiskey couldn't knock her out. Then again, three cigarettes did leave her buzzing.

Giving up on the idea of sleep, Ginny crawled out of bed, glaring at the light that was starting to shine from the sun that was yet to rise. After a quick bowl of cereal, a bland healthy brand her mother bought for her father who never ate it, Ginny decided to attempt to be healthy. Wearing just a sports bra, shorts, and running shoes, Ginny stretched on her front porch, ready to run into town, maybe scare a few of the early bird old people with her tattoos and piercings.

Over the years she had accumulated seven tattoos and twice as many piercings. Six of her piercing were in her ear lobes, three in each ear, number seven was in her navel, eight was in her nose, the infamous piercing that started it all, nine in her lip, ten in her right tragus, eleven in her right cartilage, twelve and thirteen in her left cartilage as an industrial, and fourteen in the rook of her right ear, the top fold right under the top of her ear. That one had hurt the most, the little hook just seemed to taunt her now, looking so innocent.

The tattoos weren't clumped together like most of her piercings, but spread all over. The sun on her left wrist was the only one that showed all the time. The small coffee cup behind her left ear was the first one she got, and it still made her laugh when she saw it, only now she held the laugh inside. Next had come the Italian phrase "La vita è bella" around her right ankle, the only tattoo she had that wasn't visible at the moment, thanks to her running shoes. Up the same leg, all the way up to her thigh, was a lion, like most of her tats, it was fully colored and looked very proud as it roared, ready to fight. She was very fond of it and named him Lenny. The back of her left calf had a green dragon, the traditional Chinese kind and when she sat a certain way, she would sometimes make the dragon and Lenny fight, but she never claimed a winner. All the way up her right side, crawling up her ribcage but starting at her hip were three St. Petersburg steeples, the middle being the tallest. They were the design of the old buildings in the Russian town, the pride of the city. The one closest to her back gold on top at the Hershey's kiss shaped top, the middle one purple, and the next one a fiery red.

Her biggest tattoo was the most elaborate one, and she still had plans to add to it. It was a circus tent that dominated her back, with the classic red and white stripes, it took up nearly the whole base of her back with the top point resting between her shoulder blades. It was partly covered up at the moment, but the most noticeable of all. She knew that it would result in quite a few stares as she ran past, which made her giggle to herself a bit viciously about how upset all the old women would be at the sheer idea of defacing herself in such a way.

The run turned out to be exactly what she needed, her muscles had been itching to be put to use again. Her last job had been her favorite so far, and the inspiration for her biggest tattoo. It had forced her to be in tip top shape, for as a circus performer, clothing was bare at best, and she had been an acrobat.

True, the whole circus had cheated a bit, using magic to assist them, but still, it had been a thrill. She was sorry to leave. She had a knack for finding herself in strange jobs, the last one being the best example.

The hypnotic sound of her feet hitting the pavement around the town was beginning to get to her, so Ginny decided to literally go off the well beaten path and headed to the Lovegood residence.

Over the years, she had stayed close to the odd pair, had even come back to town for Luna's wedding three years ago, thankful her family had not been invited, or at least had not shown up, Harry had been away training and sent his love, and Ron and Hermione had been off visiting her parents at the time Luna married Rolf Scamander, but Ginny had not only been there, she was the maid of honor.

Rolf and Luna were always traveling, being the naturalists they were, and Mr. Lovegood did get lonely at times, which also inspired Ginny to head over there. Most importantly, though, it was to pick up her check. Xenophilius had hired Ginny to write the occasional article for _The Quibbler _as he found her life to be absolutely fascinating. He was also very fond of her for being so kind to his daughter for all these years, Luna had inherited her passion for watching out for her friends through him.

"Hello!" Ginny called as she went into the eccentric little house, not bothering to knock.

"Oh!" she heard the old man call from where his magazine was printing upstairs, "I know that hello! Hello! Come in, come in! My, you're sweaty. That's all right, I'll get us some juice. Do you like pineapple?" said in his rushed voice as he made his way down to his guest.

"Uh, yes?"

"Too bad, only have orange. A bit dull, but Luna assures me it's good for me." Xenophilius frowned as they made their way into the very round kitchen.

"Orange is fine, Phil." Ginny assured, practically glowing with affection. Once past the initial confusion the old man provided, he was quite adorable in her mind.

"Now, Miss Ginny, I can't help but notice you're in Ottery St. Catchpole," Mr. Lovegood pointed out, looking concerned over his mug of juice.

"Yeah, I decided to come back. Face the facts. Seven years is long enough, y'know?"

"Depends on what you're doing. The gestation period for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks is eight years."

"Goodness, no wonder there are so few of them." Ginny had realized long ago that it was just easier to go along with his ideas. Besides, he was nice. And her boss.

"Mm, yes. Poor creatures. Now, really, Ginny, the most important question is: why are you here?"

"To say hello."

"I mean in this part of the world, you've had seven years worth of very interesting adventures that have created some very nice people oriented articles. Don't tell me you won't write anymore?"

"Oh, I could never stop doing that. I'm just back because…well, I guess I need my family. I don't know if Luna's told you, but my life hasn't been too easy."

"She's mentioned a few things." There was a very pleasant silence that followed this. Most people forget that Mr. Lovegood is a widower, but Ginny never did. He'd been very good at telling how to pick herself back up.

"I just think it's time for me to go back and make things right. With all of them." Ginny finally sighed, looking to him once again for advice. "It won't be easy," he warned, giving her a very fatherly gaze.

"Oh, you know me, I won't have it anyway but the hard way."

"The real question is, if you're here to reconcile with your family, what, dear child, are you doing in my kitchen drinking all my juice?" he asked with a smile.

"Well, boss, you need to give me my last check, and then I promise to go and try to piece myself back together, but not so much so that I can't keep writing completely fascinating articles."

"Do see to it, I still get comments on your article on how you acquired your owl."

Ginny grinned and rubbed her ribs on the side that wasn't decorated with a tattoo but with a rather nasty looking scar she had acquired right after Luna's wedding, over in China. Sure, the scar was kind of wicked looking, but Lei was a good owl, meant to fly over oceans, and a great conversation starter.

"I did enjoy writing that article," Ginny giggled, remembering the reaction a few readers had sent her, demanding to know if it was true. The next article she had pictures of the scar printed in there.

"And Ginny, as much as I enjoy your company, perhaps you should have breakfast with your family, so I can get back to work and assure that you will continue to get paid for your work."

"Right, you're right. Thanks for the juice, Phil, orange really isn't bad."

"No, I suppose not, take care Ginny."

With the check tucked into her sports bra, Ginny continued on her run back to the Burrow. Upon returning, she wasn't exactly expecting to find a crowded kitchen, as she had been almost positive that only her parents lived there now. But life is full of surprises. Awkward, awkward surprises.

"What's going on here?" she quietly asked her father, as he stood by the kitchen window, jumping a little at her voice.

Ginny was a bit difficult to hear over the excited plans being made by her mother and Hilary, as Harry sat quietly at the kitchen table, watching plans be made and magazine being torn apart in the process.

"Goodness, you're sweaty. Couldn't sleep?" her father asked instead of answering.

"Yeh, I think it was the cigarettes last night." Ginny admitted.

"You really shouldn't smoke, each cigarette takes seven minutes off your life." Hilary pointed out from her seat, looking up while Mrs. Weasley remained bent over the schedule she was working on."

"Dear me, I just lost 21 minutes last night…I could have used that time doing something important…like smoking." Ginny responded, rolling her eyes. Smokers, as a whole, don't really enjoy being told why they need to quit.

"It seems that there's a giant owl in our tree, watching the house. Biggest one I've ever seen. Just watching." her father said, changing the subject as he stared intently out the window at the big bird.

"Oh, good! Lei's here!" Ginny squealed, absolutely delighted. From the looks of it, he had a package, which only added to Ginny's excitement. She swung the window open and the giant owl swooped in, taking over an empty chair as he waited to have a parcel removed from his leg.

The arrival of a giant owl did distract from the plans, and all but Ginny stared wide eye as she stroked him affectionately as she removed her package.

"Have a nice flight, Lei?" she asked him, receiving a surprisingly high 'hoo' in response. The owl was worthy of stares, as he was a horned owl, but the size of an eagle, with huge amber eyes that blinked very slowly as he looked around the room, examining the food on the table.

"Er, does it want any food?" Molly asked a bit nervously. An owl that size was a bit off-putting.

"Nah, he always gets food on his own." Ginny answered, still stroking the great bird.

"What? Elk?" her father questioned, making Ginny giggle.

"I guess I haven't really told you anything about my owl. His name's Lei, you say it lay, like you want to lay down. It means rib in Mandarin, I got him in this little village outside of Beijing."

"What were you doing there?" Harry asked, awe struck, still.

"Studying potions. I studied under this unbelievable old guy, don't know his name though. I just always called him Shi, means master. My Chinese is terrible. Anyways, how I got this guy was because there was this gang fight, and Shi's nephew was in one of the gangs, so I was sent to go get him, or at least I think I was, and I ended up being on the wrong end of a baseball bat, it was muggle gangs, and they all thought I was a muggle, so I got sent to this little hospital, where they took my rib out, which got me this doozy." she then pointed out the scar that graced her ribcage, which just made the groups eyes go wider. "And they gave me Lei as an apology, Shi did. He's just brilliant, specially designed for international flights, and a real sweetheart. Brings me a dead mouse sometimes."

Tentatively, Harry gave the huge bird a gentle stroke, who turned and stared at him as if the wizard had just attempted to stab him. Harry then lowered his arm and placed it onto his lap, a bit embarrassed.

"Ginny," Mrs. Weasley started, her eyes dangerously narrow, "how many tattoos and piercings do you have, exactly?" her voice was just above a growl, and Ginny gulped before being able to respond.

"Uh, I have, uh, seven tattoos and fourteen piercings. Although, the piercings are important, I needed them for work!"

"What did you do for work?" Mrs. Weasley questioned, her voice still a sharp growl.

"I worked as a piercer…in Phoenix…"

"A what?"

"A piercer, people came in and I used either a gun or really big needle to give them piercings…It was good money, I was good at it…"

This created one of the rare moments where Molly Weasley was completely speechless. Never in all her years had she ever even considered the possibility of one of her children professionally mutilating other peoples darling children.

"Ginny!" Hilary started, jumping on the moment of silence, "Want to join me for lunch? Seems like everyone else knows you so well, I thought it'd be nice if we got better acquainted."

"Sounds great! I'll go shower!" Ginny said as fast as she could, and grabbed her parcel and shot up the stairs to safety. It was only once she was safely away from her mother that she realized she'd be eating a meal all alone with her ex's fiancée. Alone. As in, there'd be no one to keep her from stabbing the poor girl with a fork. It would be left entirely to Ginny's self control. Damn.


	6. Einstein Weasley

A great deal of thanks for the lovely reviews. It's been exactly one week since the last chapter, and having noticed that, I felt a bit bad for taking this long to update after a slightly cliffy chapter...My bad. Really. _Maybe _I'd be slightly more urged to update with more reviews...No, no ignore that, that was selfish.

* * *

_Well, this was just brilliant of you, _Ginny's mind chastised, _why don't you ask Voldermort to tea, first chance you get? Yes, I know he's dead! _

Ginny sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. She was showered, she was dressed in plain jeans and a white halter, having given up on hiding her various tattoos, and had her hair piled up in a messy bun that was falling so much it was practically a ponytail.

"There's really no way out of this, is there?" she asked her owl, who had followed her to sit up in her windowsill.

"Hoo."

"That's your answer for everything. Merlin, this place is stressing me out, Lei. What made me think this would be a good idea, coming here?"

"Hoo."

"I am not a drunk! Why, you dirty bird!"

"Uh, Ginny?"

"_Lei?!"_

"No, it's me, it's Hilary, I'm outside the door. Are you almost ready?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry, I'm ready. Where do you want to go?"

Ginny slipped out of the door, to a very nervous looking Hilary.

"Got any place in mind?" Ginny asked cordially, pretty sure the poor girl was going to start shaking at any moment.

"My cousin owns a place in Diagon Alley, a little café. He usually manages to find room for me."

"Sounds good."

The two made their way over the restaurant, Hilary giving Harry a quick good bye kiss before they left and then blushing profusely as she realized Ginny was watching and waiting. Harry failed to meet Ginny's eye after that, and merely mumbled a goodbye as the pair set off.

The café was rather nice, and the two managed to get a patio table, and spent the first ten minutes chatting about the weather.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" Ginny finally asked, unable to take the situation without some stress reliever.

"I guess not, although it's not good for you."

"Are you serious? Bloody hell! Why hasn't anyone told me this before?" Ginny remarked sarcastically as she lit her cigarette.

"Right, guess you've heard that one." Hilary sheepishly grinned.

"Yeah, it's come up in other conversations." Ginny said as she blew a rather large puff of smoke away from the other girl. "So how did you and Harry meet? School?"

"Oh, no, I was a couple years behind him, never had any classes or anything. Too young when all the big things were happening. Plus I was in Ravenclaw." Hilary explained, rather excited that Ginny was able to talk about this so easily.

"Yeah? I had a few friends in Ravenclaw, I'm sure you knew them."

"Right, I remember, you dated Michael Corner, didn't you? Gods, he was cute."

"I did date him, just ages ago. I should call him up…"

"And didn't you talk to Loony Lovegood? Merlin, she was odd, I'll never forget those ridiculous earrings." Hilary laughed, relaxing as the conversation went on.

"Still do." Ginny said curtly.

"What?"

"Still hang out with _Luna _Lovegood. Even work for her dad. Nice people, they are. Nicest, even." Ginny tapped her cigarette ash into a small pot of flowers that was set on the table between them, but Hilary didn't know where she was looking at the time as she was sporting some very dark, off-putting glasses.

"I--I didn't realize, I apologize--"

"Don't worry about it, that attitudes pretty much the norm. So where did you and Harry meet, if it's not Hogwarts."

"We work together, actually, he asked me out to lunch two years ago, and we've been together ever since."

"You an Auror?"

"Oh, no I work in getting the new laws known to the public. Kinda like PR for the Ministry. What exactly do you do?"

"Me? I do lots of things, this that, everything, really. Never was able to settle down. Lucky for you, I guess."

After a brief fit of awkward laughter on Hilary's part, the blond made sure to keep the conversation on lighter subjects. All in all, Ginny found it polite, nice, and _boring_. She was pretty relieved when the check arrived.

"Are you heading back to the Burrow?" Hilary asked as they left the little café.

"Actually, I think I'll head down to the joke shop, haven't seen it for awhile, y'know? Are you heading back?"

"Yes, Molly and I have some plans to finish."

"My mum's really planning your wedding, huh?"

"Mmhmm, she insisted, since it'll be there and all…Oh, gods, no one told you, did they? I can tell by your face…"

"No, no one mentioned my ex getting married to someone else in my own backyard…funny how things work out sometimes. Guess I'll see you 'round, then." Ginny gave a little wave as she hurried down the street, careful not to look back. Hilary seemed nice, just…unlucky when it came to dealing with Ginny.

The joke shop was simply packed, which wasn't surprising since it was summer Saturday afternoon, but still it didn't take long for Ginny to find a familiar face.

"George!" she called over the crowd, avoiding a pack of young wizards who were trying to zap each other with the latest product.

"Ginny! What a pleasure. You just pop up unexpected everywhere, don't you?" George grinned.

"Come take a break with me, George. I need ice cream." Ginny begged, knowing it wouldn't be hard to talk George away from work.

"I dunno, I really shouldn't. Aw, what the hey, I'm the boss! Ron's not even here today, he and the wife-y wanted to do something all couple-y. Don't tell Angelina, she'll want to start doing all these couple-y things, and I didn't have a kid to keep being a husband! It's just down right selfish to want me to work both ways!"

"You're still terrible, George. Simply terrible." Ginny said, rolling her eyes.

It only took a few minutes of joking as they split a sundae before George changed the subject.

"Now, really Gin, where've you been?" he asked her, giving a rather serious look.

"I've been everywhere." she said simply, taking another bite as she watched his right eyebrow creep up towards his hair line.

"Where is everywhere?"

"Well…first I was in Glasgow, Scotland, that lasted for about six months, and then I went to Rome for about a year and half, from there I went to China, stayed in a little village outside Beijing for a year or so, from there I went to Russia, worked as a nanny and tutor in St. Petersburg for a year, after that I was sick of the cold, so I spent a year in Phoenix, Arizona in the states after that, before I ended up with this Romanian circus, traveling all around that area for not quite two years. Between that I'd either wander aimlessly or stay with friends."

"You're joking."

"I am not!"

"That's amazing. I mean, really."

"It's the truth, I promise."

"No, I believe you, it's just that--that is all incredible. How could you go so many places? How could you afford to live like that?"

"Oh, I wrote for Phil Lovegood, got pretty good at cards, gambling and such, and I worked as a waitress in Glasgow, but the only reason I left there is because this sweet old Italian man, Mossimo, hired me as his assistant. Poor old dear died, though. Left me everything of his."

"You two didn't have a romantic relationship did you?" George asked, his older brother sentiment suddenly sky rocketing.

"Merlin, no! He was 180 years older than me! Died before he turned 200, said it'd be too much like being 20 again, he didn't like being 20."

George just kinda stared at her about that comment, he knew she wasn't lying, even if she was a very good liar, no one could make all that up and keep a straight face.

"I know what you're thinking, but c'mon, we're magic, sometimes the truth is better than anything you could ever make up." Ginny grinned, Mossimo had been one of her favorite people she had met while roaming around the world.

"And through all this, you never stopped to yourself and thought 'oi, this might be a good time to drop a line back to the fam, let 'em know I'm not dead'?"

"Yeah, that would have been brilliant. 'Dear Mum and Dad, sorry 'bout running way, still not coming back, just wanted to let you know I ain't dead yet, hope all's well. Sincerely, that damned daughter.'"

"You could have put it a bit nicer than that."

"Face it George, after that first month, there was no going back."

"Why'd you have to leave at all?"

"I--It's complicated." Ginny sighed, she had known this was coming from the start, and part of her was glad it was her friendliest brother talking to her about it. George wasn't the scolding type, he nor was he the one to sigh and say he was so disappointed.

"How complicated could it be? Mum told you to take out your nose ring and you wouldn't!"

"No, Mum kicked me out over a nose ring and I had no place to go and nothing but the clothes on my back. It was sheer luck my wand was in my pocket."

"You could have com to the joke shop! Or to Shell Cottage, or straight to Romania, hell, you could have gone to Aunt Muriel's even!"

"Just to be sent back to Mum's and have the same things happen over and over again! Face it, George, I made the best decision I could at the time, and there's no turning back now, so here I am, all grown up in my own way, with more stories from more lives than most people ever live, much less by the age of 25."

"So you don't regret any of it?"

"Are you joking? I regret all of it. But there's no point wallowing over the past, changing it will only ruin the reality we believe in now."

"That we believe in? What? You don't believe in reality?"

"Reality is just an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."

"Nice, make that up yourself?"

"Hah, I wish, that comes from Albert Einstein."

"You are the Einstein of the Weasley family. At least, until my son starts talking and then he will truly outsmart us all." George grinned, chest swelling with pride.

Ginny grinned at her brother as he started talking about his young son, who, according to George, was already showing signs of brilliance unbeknownst to the world up to this point in time. He was sure to be Minister by the age of 30, if not sooner.

"Ginny? Is that really you?" Ginny nearly jumped at the almost familiar voice and didn't bother to hide her surprise as she looked up at the voice.

"Wow, Dean? You look great!" she grinned. There's something very nice about running into an ex who's happy to see you. George just watched what he was sure would end up being a train wreck.

"What're you doing here? I mean, besides the obvious. Last I heard you were MIA." Dean said, pulling up a chair. He really did look nice, his hair cut short, his dark skin practically flawless, Ginny couldn't help but smile at him.

"Oh, I've just been wandering about the world. What about you though? Finally settle down?"

"Me? No, not the settling type. Seamus and I have this little networking business, helping people connect for business reasons, finding shops would want certain products to sell, worked with your brothers a few times." he explained, giving George a friendly grin.

"And the finders fee is a mere arm and a leg! Good thing he's not charging ears." George grinned back. He liked Dean, he really did. But Ginny and Dean? That wouldn't go so well. The two of them had a…bumpy relationship back in school.

"Gin, if you're free tonight, I would be thrilled to show you around our part of the world again, I mean, I know it's not nearly exciting as what you've seen, but there are some very exciting clubs that have been put in." Dean said, flashing a dazzling white grin.

_Please say no, please don't do this, _George thought, though he hid it behind a smile.

"That sounds amazing." Ginny purred, "Should we meet back here tonight?"

"I'll be here at seven."


	7. Needle Pictures

Hello, loves! Sorry I took a bit longer than usual, my life is slightly hectic at the moment. I work all day and go to school at night, which is a bit draining. But enough excuses, time to give thanks! 51 reviews! Woah. I feel super special. Ya'll are awesome.:)

This chapter gives us a more in depth look into Ginny's missing years, which will continue, so I certainly hope you like that component.

* * *

_Why does it always seem like a good idea the night before?_ Ginny's brain questioned as she snuck back through the front door. Thirteen hours ago, she had met up with Dean Thomas. Now, at 8 am, she was sneaking back into her parents house. Oh, this wouldn't go well if she was seen, but all she had to do was…

"Go for another run? Oh, I guess not." her mother stepped out of the kitchen where she was evidently making breakfast. She looked her daughter over and rolled her eyes. Ginny's hair had been straightened, her make up last night had been elaborate, although it was quite smudged today, her jeans were tighter than Molly thought possible, and her low cut, draping, sparkly gray top did not leave nearly enough to the imagination.

"Morning, Mum!" Ginny smiled sheepishly.

"Breakfast will be ready in just a few, I trust you're hungry from your night out." Molly's tone was short, and she was once again cooking the ever infamous bacon.

Not ready to go into the kitchen and pretend that she wasn't there, Ginny wandered through the living room, stopping at the coffee table. She couldn't help but smile as she looked at open book, her own baby book. She laughed a little at the memory some of the pictures held, such as the time her mum had tried to dress Ginny up in a pink, fluffy dress, and Ginny had used her magic for the first time to turn in to overalls, much to her mother's dismay.

Another page showed the whole family right after Ginny had been born, she was just a chubby arm waving from blankets resting in Charlie's nervous arms.

"Gross, Ron," she giggled to herself, the baby version of her brother shoving a finger up his nose, then being pulled out by a young, yet still uptight Percy.

"Your eggs will be getting cold if you don't hurry up, you always hated that." Molly stated from the kitchen doorway, stiffening as she saw what Ginny was looking at.

"Thanks, Mum." Ginny grinned, very easy going.

"Did you enjoy your night out?" Molly asked, going back to the stove.

"I did, went out with Dean, caught up with a few people from school."

"Did you now." Molly sounded uninterested.

"I did! And it was quite fun, saw Seamus, Lavender, Parvati…usual gang."

"And which one did you spend the night with?"

"Uhhh…we all went to Dean's, and just talked for a good, long while."

"And you talked all night?"

"Well, maybe the others left…"

"Ginny, when are you going to find your own flat?"

"What?"

"Your own flat."

"You're kicking me out again?!"

"No, I'm just--this is too hard, Ginny."

Ginny stood up from the table, throwing her bacon back on the plate.

"Are you joking? No! Don't answer! I'm ranting! This is not fair! Not at all! First you kick me out over a nose ring, but then I come back and you kick me out because I'm back! I will not be finding a flat of my own till I'm good and ready! Now you keep cooking, Daddy will be up soon and he will want breakfast and I am going to go to bed hungry because I cannot eat bacon tainted with motherly distaste! And I am a fan of bacon!"

"Ginny, what do you expect from me? You to just waltz back into my world and suddenly all's forgiven? Do you have any idea how upset I've been? How hard it's been for your father and me? Your brothers, too! And now everything is supposed to be okay just because you came back!"

"Is it possible at all for you to look at the bright side?! I mean, at all?! What if I had come back pregnant! Or with a child already!"

"That has been one of my greatest fears ever since you left." Molly said solemnly, "I dreaded you just showing up with a child, you're still a child yourself."

"Mum, I have got to admit, I really, really need your help. That's why I came back. I--I tried to do this whole off living on my own thing, and it really didn't go so well. Really. Really not so well. Mum, please, look at me, honestly, do you think I'm okay?""Ginny, this is all just so much--"

"Mum! Please! Just admit it. Admit that I have totally screwed myself over time and time again, and most importantly, I am coming to terms with it, and now is the time for me to straighten my life out and stop drinking so much and become more responsible!"

"Wow, Gin, that's very…mature."

"Thanks, I heard it on a soap opera in Romania. If you'll excuse me, I have a nasty hangover and am going to go puke now."

Ginny spent the rest of the day and then all night sleeping off her hangover. Molly didn't mind, she spent that time making plans, being the overbearing mothering type, she couldn't stand the state of her family any longer. She accepted Ginny's hangover induced rant for the cry of hope that it was and ignored the fact that there was no actual apology.

It was early Monday before Ginny emerged from her room to shower and come down for food.

"Gods, how long was I asleep?" Ginny asked as she looked around the living room to find two toddlers, and a baby already there.

"Didn't I tell you? I watch the kids while their parents work. Jana and Angelina work part time, but Aubrey works full time, Bill should be here before long with the girls. You know he and Fleur have another baby due in the fall?" Ginny just stared a bit wide eyed at her mother. Suddenly her mother had gone from angry to willing to make everything okay again, which was nice, but strange.

"Oh, and I've gotten rid of all the liquor and you're not going out without a chaperon for three months." Molly added as she went back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up breakfast. That attitude was more like what Ginny had grown up with. She sat down cross-legged on the floor between Marty and little Molly and joined in in their tower of blocks. Freddie just watched from his bouncy chair and gurgled, occasionally saying something close to words.

"So I was thinking of starting a job hunt while I've got a stable living arrangement here." Ginny called to her mother.

"Blip!" Freddie inserted.

"No, no you're not. You'll be helping me out, I could use an extra hand or two with the kids, and we'll be making sure that you're completely sober before you start going out into the world."

"I'm forbidden to work?" Ginny called out in outrage.

"What the hell did you expect?"

"When did you become such a potty mouth?"

"Enjoy it while you can, Dominique is a tattler, and Bill will be bringing her and Victoire any minute."

Ginny spent the next few minutes enjoying the company of her niece and nephews, where Freddie squealed six times because he saw some dust and his mind it was hilarious, little Molly repeatedly said "Kin!" at Ginny, thrilling the aunt, and Marty successfully fit a block into his mouth, something that he seemed to find to be very serious, judging by the look on his little face.

It proved to be the last few blissful moments before her older nieces arrived. With a whoosh from the floo, Bill and his two daughters in matching outfits arrived.

"Morning, Gin! How's the hangover?" Bill grinned, dressed up for work.

"Brilliant, I slept through it. I went to bed yesterday morning and got up less than an hour ago. Only hurled twice yesterday from it. How's Phlegm?"

"Don't you mean Fleur? The mother of my two, present children?" Bill asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Right, right, I musta misspoken." Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Okay girls, you two be super good for your grandmum and Aunt Ginny." Bill told his two girls.

"But Aunt Ginny's mean!" Dominique cried out, her face as dramatic as her looks.

"She'll be just as nice as you are." Bill said, giving both of them a pointed look.

"Right, I'll be good if they are, right Vic?" Ginny asked her older, smiling niece.

"Right!" the girl chirped, looking pleased.

"Right, Nikki?"

"It's Dominique!"

"Right, then, off to work, bye kids, bye Mum, bye Gin! I'll pick you up for lunch at noon."

"Uh, sounds great, but what are you talking about?" Ginny asked perplexed.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm putting this family back together one sibling at a time." Molly responded from the kitchen.

This was becoming more and more like that mum Ginny had expected to find.

"You have pictures on you." Victoire commented shortly after snack time at the Weasley house.

"Yeah, I do, lots of 'em. They're called tattoos, someone drew them all on with needles." Ginny responded, her eyes big with drama at the needle comment.

"Woah!" Marty interjected, although it wasn't too exciting as that was one of the four words in his vocabulary.

"Mummy says everyone regrets their tattoos by the age of 30." Dominique stated as she brushed the hair of one of the many dolls that had migrated to their grandparent's home.

"Well, then we should give you one! You'll have lots of time before you hate it!" Ginny responded, her eyes bright as she leaned to the little girl who's eyes flashed with terror.

"Ooh, yeah!" the older sister started, "We can give her a tattoo of a unicorn! She never shuts up about them!"

"Anybody home!" Bill called, just arriving.

"Daddy!" Dominique cried, her arms up in the air, "Help! She wants to draw unicorns on me with needles!"

"Who does?"

"That stupid Aunt Ginny!"

"Well, if I'm stupid than you're a poop face."

"All right you two, break it up. Don't worry Dominique, I'll take her out of a good talking to, all lunch long."

"Gee, Mum, think you can make it without me for a bit?" Ginny asked her mother, who was sitting on the couch quietly reading a book for once on a weekday afternoon.

"It's highly unlikely, I only raised seven kids on my own." she scoffed, pulling Freddie's entire fist out of his mouth.

"You've got to be joking, there's no way you could have been so many places!" Bill laughed despite his mouth full of food.

"I'm serious, I don't know why it's so hard to conceive, I traveled, okay? I had seven years to go all over the place! But, speaking of conceiving, what's this I hear about you having a third before long?"

"Yeah, we're hoping for a boy. Due in October. I take it Mum told you? Even though she's having her third kid, Fleur doesn't look like it yet."

"That's true…but if it comes up, tell her I asked when she was due."

"What about you, Gin? Any family plans?"

"As in getting married and having babies and being a good family witch?"

"That's pretty much what I was referring to."

Ginny sighed to buy herself time before answering. Evidently Hermione hadn't blabbed the news Ginny had revealed while under the influence of some very lovely firewhiskey was yet to make it up Bill's branch of the family tree.

"I--almost."

"Almost?"

"I almost got married."

"What happened?"

"Well…

_Ginny squinted in the blinding sun, the fact that she was in the middle of a desert with practically white sand was not helping her out at all. Her left had went to it's traditional spot on her forehead, palm up as if she was in silent film and having a very dramatic moment so that her hand could shield at least some of the brightness. In the process, her wrist felt as if it was being taken over by the entire sun._

_Sunshine, she thought she wanted it after all that time in St. Petersburg, but now she wasn't sure. And this job? This was not what she was expecting to do for a living. She hated to admit it, especially since this was a muggle tattoo parlor, but she used a little magic on those she pierced so it wouldn't hurt as much. _

_"Hello!" Ginny's head shot up from the desk she was manning, it was her time to watch over the door as people came in for the day. It was early on Saturday, she wasn't expecting many people till later. _

_"Hi, are you looking to add to your collection?" she grinned at the guy who'd just walked in, he was quite attractive, with wavy hay colored hair and bright gray eyes and plenty of tattoos. As in, two full color sleeves of them._

_"Ah, you must be the new piercer. I'm Sonny." he extended his hand to her, and Ginny couldn't help but blush a little at the warmth of it all. _

_"You've been dating for HOW LONG?" Nikki questioned Ginny, her voice excited. The girl had dark brown hair with streaks of pink, a chubby girl with brightly colored tattoos all across her. She had been the one to give Ginny her elaborately colored St. Petersburg steeples._

_"Six months, and now, this!" Ginny gushed, putting her left hand in her friends face so she could see the engagement ring. _

_Set in platinum, the rock was an impressive one, and Ginny couldn't stop smiling at it. She had tried to insist it was too big, too much, but Sunny had always like flash._

_"But Ginny, what about the…" Nikki let her voice trail off, she couldn't help but feel a wave of panic as she remembered what Sonny had. _

_"We're working on it." Ginny nodded, sure of herself._

_"I'm getting worse, Gin." Sonny said solemnly as he sat up in their bed where had spent the day, today had been tough. Ginny sat on the edge, her face in her hands._

_"I know," she said, her voice small. _

_"I'm so sorry, I hate this."_

_"No, it's not your fault, it really isn't, I don't blame you a bit! I love you far too much to blame you."_

_"You are far too sweet. It's a bit unreasonable."_

_"Don't worry, I'm crazy, too. Look what I did today!" Ginny put her wrist up to show her newest edition to the collection. _

_"Gin, that's…wow."_

_"See? Even if you leave me, I've got you with me, always."_

_"I hope you think of me every time you see that…and so does every guy who makes a pass at you after I'm gone." _

_Ginny burst into her first fit of genuine giggles since Sonny had started getting worse._

_"Oh, Ginny," Nikki started, her clothes uncharacteristically dark a mere six months after the excited conversation over Ginny's ring. "I'm so sorry. Really, I am, if you need anything, anything at all…"_

_"Actually, I need a break more than anything, thanks, though Nik, for everything." Ginny responded, her face wet with tears but her voice as calm as she could muster. "The cupcakes, the dinners, the days off, the cupcakes again, everything, you've been a great help through all this."_

_"You're not--you're not gonna leave, are you Gin?" Nikki asked, her tear filled eyes wide with fear._

_"I think I'll go to Romania, try and find my brother." Ginny stated. "I'll miss you though, both of you." _

_Inoperable brain tumor. What the hell is that? Some curse that muggles thought of to hurt each other? He never complained, her Sonny. He was so strong, so fun through it all. _

_He'd been amazed when Ginny was willing to marry him anyways, marry him with a mark on his head, or in his head as he put it, he'd been thrilled. Told her that she made him feel like a normal person, and that she was the only one. _

_The irony was enough to make her puke._

"Well, you know how things go, sometimes weddings just don't happen." Ginny stated, giving a small complacent smile and quickly changing the topic.


	8. ShikaShikaKaboom

Hello, again! This chapter is short compared to to the others, so I decided to just go ahead and put it out there. I'm really glad the looks into the past got such a good response, especially since it's in this chapter too... I just felt that Ginny's past was something that needed to be eased into.

Thanks _so much _for the reviews! It's absolutely awesome.

* * *

_That is enough family bonding to last for a few decades. _Ginny thought to herself. All the kids were out of the house except Marty, which Ginny was just fine with. Marty was a very agreeable little boy, who tottered around the living room, bringing Ginny toy after toy so as to impress Ginny with them, and he always had a huge grin with each toy.

"Here's Marty's bag, I'll see you after dinner." Molly told her daughter, handing her a diaper bag decorated in what else? Dragons.

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked, scooping the gleeful boy up who 'woah'd' in celebration.

"Your father and I are staying here, you and Marty are going to eat dinner at Jana and Charlie's."

"Are you joking? Do you have any idea how much family time I've had in the past two days?"

"More than you've had in the past seven years, so off you go!" Molly said with a gentle push to the fireplace.

"Mummy! Daddy! Milk! Woah! Nope!" Marty yelled as Ginny stepped out of the fireplace at the spacious flat of her older brother and his family. He said every word he'd known up till that afternoon.

"And the what did you learn today?" Ginny coaxed, setting down on the floor to let him go to the family's cat, Horntail.

"Shika-shika-kaboom!" Marty yelled, chasing after the once relaxed cat.

"Hello, little sister, good to see you have taught my son something new to yell." Charlie said, giving his sister a quick hug as a greeting.

"It's not my fault, it was in a book we were reading, he thought it was hilarious."

"Figures, c'mon in to the kitchen, I really do feel it's time you meet my lovely wife."

Ginny couldn't help but admire the warm home as she walked through, the living room had a brick wall that held the fire place, but was otherwise painted a light, airy gray color with a big blue plush couch and there were plenty of pictures on the wall. The kitchen was done in yellow with white accessories, very homey and comfortable.

"Hello, you must be the infamous young sister-in-law of mine," a brunette with a strong jaw and easy smile said, extending a hand. She wasn't traditional pretty yet undeniably attractive.

"And you must be the woman I know mainly as Marty's mum," Ginny grinned as she accepted the handshake.

"Oh, I hope he wasn't a terror today." the mother said, scooping her son up in her arms as he squealed.

"Shika-shika-kaboom!" Marty yelled, thrusting a chubby fist into the air.

"Not a terror, he extended his vocabulary, it was an exciting day."

"Ahh, very nice. Now, please, have a seat, dinner's almost ready and I believe we've been instructed to have some well thought out, spontaneous family bonding time. You don't sit, Charlie, you get us all some drinks."

"Right, right, what'll it be, Gin? Scratch that, you'll have juice."

"Now that's not fair!"

"Don't care, the juice is good, and I'm under strict orders."

"Fine, fine. Is at least pineapple?"

"What?"

"Oh, never mind."

Despite the lack of alcohol consumed, conversation came easily for the group. Ginny found that she really liked Jana, and Jana seemed quite fond of Ginny, too, which was a welcome change from the sister-in-law Ginny was used to when she left.

"So, besides being in the same country, how exactly did you crazy kids meet?" Ginny asked after Marty had been put down for the night, a slightly difficult task as he insisted on giving everyone a good night hug at least twice, including the elusive cat.

"Oh, that's not a very entertaining story at all…" Charlie started, waving the conversation off.

"Hah! Hardly," Jana interjected, "it's actually a HIGHLY entertaining story. I work part time as a Healer now that we've got Marty, but just a few years ago I was working full-time on the dragon reservation, and one day, this strapping redhead is carried into my ward, absolutely _covered _in this rash."

"It was an allergic reaction to the ash of a certain flame from a cross-bred dragon. It was critical to research!" Charlie added, folding his arms in frustration.

"He was all puss-y!" Jana laughed, nearly falling out of her chair.

"It wasn't that bad!"

"He couldn't move his arms, just kept them straight out like a mummy!" by this point, Jana had tears rolling down her cheeks and Ginny was laughing right around with her. Even Charlie chuckled a bit, though he'd never admit it.

"How on earth did you end up working as a Healer for a dragon reservation?" Ginny asked after she had regained her breath from laughing at the couples antics.

"My daddy founded it, I grew up on it." Jana explained, still flushed from laughing.

"The Martin Jankowski Dragon Reservation?" Ginny asked, her eyes wide with recognition.

"Yeah, do you know it?"

_Well, I did get arrested in front of it. _

"Yeah, we performed around there when I was in the circus. A few times, actually." Ginny said, ignoring what her brain had stated.

"The circus? How did you get into that?" Jana asked, leaning in with excitement.

"Well…

_Ginny was drunk, in a strange country where she didn't speak the language, but most importantly, she was drunk, and that was never good. A mere two days ago, she had decided to leave the US after losing her fiancé. Now, she was lost in Romania, unsure of where the brother she had gone to find was exactly. _

_Through a translation book and quite a bit of hand gestures, she had found her way to what she really hoped was a dragon reservation, but she was really relying on it being THE dragon reservation. The only problem was she couldn't get in there. _

_A very large wall was protecting the place, and the gate wasn't about to open for her. So, seeing as it was past midnight there, and she was feeling quite tired, and decided that sitting against the wall and napping for a little bit wasn't a bad idea, her belongings strewed around her. _

_It only made sense that she would wake up as she was being lifted off the ground by a Romanian muggle police officer._

"_Oi!" she woke with a start, "Put me down! I'm not drunk! I'm just…sleepy."_

_He responded in Romanian, not speaking any English, and Ginny was yet to learn any Romanian. Her translation book was with her belongings, and those were being picked up by the other officer. _

"_Where are we going?"_

_Romanian._

"_I don't want to go! Put me down! I need to find Charlie and tell him I'm not dead! That's important!"_

_More Romanian._

"_Spaghetti pants and Christmas bells!"_

_Romanian and Romanian._

"_Right, so you definitely do not speak English. But that does not mean you need to put me in this car thing. Fine, fine, put me in, but we don't really need to go anywhere…and away we go, then. Got anything to drink on you?" _

_Ginny spent the next two hours sitting in a jail cell in a small Romanian prison, trying to teach her fellow inmates tic tac to and sober up at the same time. It was an interesting task. Then, her two arresting officers and a very tall man with black hair and black goatee wearing a bright red jacket walked in, heading straight towards her cell. Instinctively, Ginny stood up to greet them._

_The officer who had gathered her belongings said something to the man in the red jacket, who nodded, looking Ginny over. _

"_Excuse me, but I really need to get out of here." Ginny said, "I have things to do!"_

"_Like vhat?" the man in the red jacket asked, Ginny wasn't sure where his accent was from. _

"_Oh! You speak English! Brilliant! Could you do me a gigantic favor and tell them I'm not drunk, I'm just stupid and sleepy, so I should go?" Ginny pleaded as her fellow inmates watched, it didn't seem that any of them spoke even a little English._

"_I do not believe this." the red jacket stated._

"_What?"_

"_I do not believe you are stupid, you are drunk. Vhat are you going to do vhen you get out? You are a vhitch?"_

"_I--how did you--my wand! Did they take it?"_

"_No, no. They thought they vere just sticks. They did take all valuables, you lucky to be wearing pretty ring. I am a vizard, I have a traveling show. You come vith us?" _

"_I--I don't know…"_

"_Vhat else you do? I only let you out if you come vith me."_

"_What could I do in your show?"_

"_You fly? You fly in my show."_

_And that was the end of it, she suddenly joined a traveling circus. It was the start of some very interesting adventures. She was the only one with any formal training in healing, especially after her time in China, which lead to her being put in charge of more things than she would have liked. _

_She was the make shift nurse, which resulted in aiding in the delivery of three babies in her stint, all of whom were then named after in some way or another. She flew on an invisible broom, performing for awe struck muggles. She made some very good friends, who introduced her to some very good liquors. _

"_Ginny," the man in the red jacket, who she now knew as Bob, but Ginny was just about positive that wasn't his real name, "you are drunk."_

"_I am?" Ginny asked, looking up from the chair she was currently draped over, squinting in the light._

"_How long you vith show? Two years?"_

"_About."_

"_How often you drinking? Everyday?"_

"_About." _

"_Ginny, you go home."_

"_You're kicking me out?"_

"_I am sending you to home. You are drunk, home fix your drinking."_

"_How'm I supposed to get there?"_

"_Now, Ginny, you know Bob. Bob take care of all performers! Vhen you are sober, I take you back, if you vant back." _

"_Thanks, Bob." Ginny grumbled. When he made up his mind, he made up his mind._

"Well…I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. It's a shame you never saw the show, although it was a muggle show, so I can understand it."  
"It is a shame though, I've always been a fan of the extravagant, guess that's how I ended up with Charlie." Jana grinned, while Charlie kept a weary eye on his sister.


	9. Of Shoes and Toothbrushes

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Okay! So, more peeking into the past. I'm almost done with this story, and it's a little sad for me. You guys have all been so amazing, I don't know if I want to lose the attention...but we all know those stories that take three years to be posted are a real pain, so I'm trying to be at least a little prompt.

Thanks again for the amazing reviews! This chapter kinda works as a filler, but also let's you know more about what Ginny's been doing, and I think it's important to know where someone's coming from. And I am writing this, so I kinda have final say. :)

And just a fun fact, the electric toothbrush thing, yeah, a friend of mine has had it done. Willingly, if you can believe that.

* * *

_No, really. You have to work. It's one of those rules for being an adult. _Ginny's brain scolded. Ginny frowned at the package that had arrived days before, courtesy of her giant owl, who had now taken up the hobby of delighting and bewildering bird watchers when not working.

Still frowning, Ginny opened the parcel, halfway surprised a cloud of dust didn't pop up from the inside, it seemed like it'd been so long since it arrived, the fateful day of lunch with her once one true love's fiancée.

"All right, work. You don't like me, and I don't like you." Ginny told the contents of the box, "But I'm going to do you, and I don't mean in a dirty way, as in, you're going to get done. Catch my drift?" the contents made no response. "Right then, shall we?"

Ginny set to work, her quill scratching away, not leaving her room, completely focused on the task at hand.

"Well, I know she's not hung over, she was with Charlie last night, so it should be fine to go on up there." Mrs. Weasley said to her veela of a daughter in law as she watched the laundry fold itself and her oldest grandson make up words to a book as her two oldest granddaughters colored away.

"I will speak to 'er and tell 'er how I axpect my girls to be treated." Fleur sniffed. After Dominique had been threatened with a unicorn tattoo, Fleur was fed up. While her husband thought it was all just gentle teasing, she knew what it really was: Ginny was a bad aunt.

"C'min." Ginny mumbled in response to the rapping at her door, not really paying attention to anything but the task at hand.

"Ginny, I need to--what iz that?" Fleur cut herself off, looking with wide eyes at the back wall in Ginny's room.

The contents of the box were successfully removed, and now covering the wall. They were sketches of countless high heeled, fancy, designer shoes. Each one was incredibly detailed, and Ginny was just scribbling away on the parchment, making adjustments as needed.

"It's work." Ginny mumbled, chewing on her quill in thought, trying to figure out what to do with a sling back pump that would make it more desirable without causing the wearer to beg for death after wearing it for twenty minutes.

"Theze designz…they all look az if they ahr Mossimo Marturi ori-iginalz!" Fleur gasped, falling in love with a gold stiletto that seemed to sparkle even only in paper form in her eyes.

"Yeah, it is."

"He iz dead!"

"I know."

"Then 'ow iz thiz possibull?" Fleur was very close to drooling as she kept looking.

"I keep telling everyone everything, but no one seems to listen…Mossimo hired me out of Glasgow and I worked for him till he died, and he left me everything."

"Everything?"

"Yes, everything! Yeesh."

"You got 'iz bizness?"

"Yes."

"'Iz 'ouze?"

"All three of them. Gave those to charity, though. The one in Rome's an orphanage, Florence is a women's shelter, and the one in Cicely is a museum."

"Away?! You gave thoze away?!"

"Well, yes. I can't exactly live in three places at once, can I? Y'know, I probably could have lived in them all, bounced between them, now that I think about it…"

"And the money?"

"I can't live in money, that's just silly."

"No! What did you do with ze money?!"

"Oh, right, he left me a fortune. I have some saved away, don't know when I'll ever use it, and the rest is used to run the business."

"You now own thiz shoe company?"

"Have you not been paying attention?!"

"You?"

"Honestly."

"You?!"

Fleur then let out a distressed yell of disgust, thrust her hand to her forehead and just crumpled to the floor in anguish. She could not believe her wretched sister in law was not only rich, but owned the most successful shoe company from Italy and designed for it, and had never, not even once, mentioned it or offered her any shoes. It was not fair that Ginny got all this after being such a horrible sister.

Ginny finally turned around, some ink from her quill at the corner of her mouth, to find the distressed French girl on the floor.

"Fleur! Get off the floor! Oh, wow, that sounds funny."

"What's this?" Molly Weasley asked from the door way, her eyes focused on her daughter as she helped the other witch up.

"I'm secretly successful and that makes Fleur upset." Ginny stated, shrugging.

"You're what?" Mrs. Weasley gaped, looking over the wall and doing a very good fish impression.

"Successful. Jeez, why does everyone expect the wandering to be lost?" Ginny turned back to her work in frustration. These flats were not going to be subtly elegant with rhinestones. Honestly, some designers totally missed the point of class, or just mixed the word up with flash.

"Ginny, when you're done working on that…picture, come downstairs." Molly instructed, her eyes fluttering over the sketches. So many frivolous purchases. So unnecessary in her mind.

It took 30 minutes for Ginny to make her way down, the ink now cleaned from her face, to find her sister in law and mother sitting at the table sipping tea while her nieces and nephew played quietly.

"Do you think buttons would work on a shoe? Like, how you button your shirt but on your shoe? I'm trying to go on a more youthful approach, but I can't really decide…Oh well, I'll send it to them. I'm the boss, they can't really say anything."

"Ginny," Molly started, her voice full of warning, "you shouldn't shock Fleur like that, she's very delicate while expecting."

"Gods, Mum, can you even say the word pregnant?"

"I just don't like it! Now, I think you should apologize."

"For what?"

"Upsetting her!"

"Fine! Fleur, I'm sorry you can't handle me being successful and having money and lots of pretty shoes."

"Ginny!"

"What?!"

"Woah!"

"Marty, go play!"

"Ginny," Fleur started, setting her tea cup down and regaining some of her coloring. As much as she didn't like to admit it, being pregnant really was difficult, and she was prone to getting light headed. "I do not think buttons would work." she stated, her pristine accent making it sound very final.

"No, think about it, it's more youthful, a different audience, and there would several button holes, making them more adjustable! It'd be great for people like me with super narrow feet, can't find any that fit if I don't make them myself."

"It would look coztume-esh!"

"It would add some drama! C'mon, now. Sometimes people want a bit of glamor on their feet! In a way other than just an obnoxious pattern or glitter."

"Glamor to you iz buttonz?"

An argument quickly followed and Ginny found herself spending the entire afternoon with the woman she once referred to 'Phlegm' and making some serious progress on the designs for fall. As much as she hated to admit it, Fleur had some good ideas.

Other ideas were just dumb, but quite a few were actually worth using. They agreed that Fleur's payment would be shoes, naturally.

By dinnertime, Ginny had sent the parcel back to Italy, much to her mother's relief as she wasn't too fond of Lei, the biggest, most intimidating owl ever.

"You and Fleur really worked together?" Ginny's father asked for the seventh time in the course of the meal.

"Yes! We really and truly did. I've believed it for years and now here's proof: shoes really do bring people together. And not just by letting them physically walk over to each other."

"But you and Fleur…"

"I know."

"And you own a shoe design company?"

"I do."

"Really?"

"What do you expect? It's an Italian company, it's gotta be either wine or shoes, and since Mum's bogarted all the alcohol, it's a good thing I don't own a winery."

"Good thing since you'd be passed out in the gutter." Mrs. Weasley muttered, although keeping her voice quite audible.

"What else have you done?" Arthur asked excitedly, quite interested, "I know about the piercing job in Phoenix and the potion studies in China, now along with the shoe design in Italy, but what else has there been exactly?"

"Well, I started out waitressing after leaving with the Lovegoods, and that's how I got my first tattoo."

"Joy." Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes.

"Really?" Mr. Weasley asked, not seeing the correlation.

"Yeah, the fry cook, Joe, this big burly guy, had a few rounds in muggle prison, realized I was the only one who worked in the whole diner that didn't have one, so one day, after we'd closed, he held me down and the other cook, who'd been studying art before he ran out of money gave me a tattoo with an electric toothbrush. It was absolutely horrible, one of my fondest memories."

"What was it? The tattoo, I mean."

"This coffee cup," Ginny stated, pulling her hair back from behind her left ear. It was small, a classic cup sitting on a saucer, only outlined. Despite the crude tools used to make it, it was a nice drawing.

"That must have been terrifying!" Arthur breathed out in amazement. He couldn't understand how the bristles of a toothbrush could draw a picture.

"It was and it wasn't. I trusted Joe and Tyler, the two guys, even though I wasn't sure about the whole tattoo thing, but as soon as it was done, I was in love with it, never regretted it."

"I must thank them." Molly said, her voice so thick with sarcasm Ginny was surprised the salt shaker sitting in front of her wasn't knocked over by the force.

"It's simply amazing what muggles are capable of." Mr. Weasley said, still amazed, leaning in for a closer look at the little picture, he just didn't see how they could make a picture with those bristles.

Mrs. Weasley began clearing the table, making sure to clang the dishes around as much as possible to break the spell that the muggle pictures had on her husband. She didn't think being held down and drawn on was fascinating at all, she thought it sounded absolutely horrible. But to Ginny, it was something else entirely.

_"I got a job." Ginny told her friend Luna Lovegood two weeks after they had arrived in Glasgow. It had only been cold and dreary since they got there, and that day the clouds had started clearing up. _

_"Won't that interfere with leaving?" Luna had asked, not even looking up from the plant she was examining. It was just a weed to anybody else, but Luna saw it with much more imaginative eyes._

_"I don't think I'll be leaving. I kinda want to try this whole independence thing, and Vera at the diner offering me a job, that's just a sign, really. That I can do this."_

_"The diner where we always get breakfast?"_

_"That's the place."_

_"You'll be serving me coffee, Ginny. That's very odd."_

_"Yes, Luna. Of everything that's ever happened in our lives, me pouring you a cup of coffee will surely be the strangest." Luna had missed the sarcasm._

_"Scotch again?" Ginny asked her fellow diner workers after another twelve hour shift. It wasn't easy, this whole independence thing. She'd been working for three months now, and could barely cover the rent for her tiny flat she shared with someone she was almost positive was making drugs in the bathroom._

_"What do you expect? We're in Scotland!" Joe had boomed, following his comment with roaring laughter on his part. He thrust his big, beefy, tattoo covered forearms in the air as he laughed as if he was a one man wave. His grease stained apron was twice as bad as Ginny's, and his clothes underneath weren't nearly as clean as hers, either._

_Everyday, she wore one of her three blue dresses, buttons all the way down the front, silver snaps, and white cuffs rolled up at the sleeves. It was the exact same as the other waitresses, Vera, an older woman who wore her hair in a beehive, and Deidre, a small nervous middle aged woman who was convinced she was still going to make it as an actress. Tyler just sheepishly grinned, the other, much younger cook was always quiet, watching the people who came in with curious eyes so he could sketch them when he got home. He was really an artist, not a cook. _

_"We only have so much Scotch 'cause the last owner drank it like water." Deidre complained, as usual. None of them would reject it though, they all needed something after a long, busy day. _

_"Oi, Ginny, you know who you look like?" Joe asked after they all got their drinks and sat down at a table, ready to relax._

_"Every other redhead?" Ginny asked, rolling her eyes. At least twice a week a customer thought she was someone else. _

_"No, no, well, kinda. My mermaid!" Joe said happily, and everyone just looked at him in confusion._

_"Joe, it has not rained so much that the Scottish have grown fins for legs." Vera said dryly, swirling her drink around. _

_"No, my mermaid!" Joe repeated. He lifted his left leg onto the table with a thud and then rolled his pant leg off to show a redheaded mermaid that was permanently drawn there. She was quite regal, actually, her face serene and framed by the flame red hair that floated around her as if she were really underwater. _

_"'Cept she hasn't got a top on. Gin, pop your dress open and let's have a look if you really do look like her," Tyler had grinned. His jokes were purely innocent, Ginny trusted him completely. But she hadn't heard this comment, she was completely entranced by the muggle tattoo. She had never seen one so close up, only the in flashes from her fellow employees, and no one in Hogwarts had one and she didn't spend much time with any muggles to see their tattoos. _

_"Haven't you seen one of those before?" Vera asked her, noticing the fascination._

_"I honestly haven't." Ginny breathed, disappointed when Joe put his leg back down. _

_"You really did break out of a strict household." Deidre snorted, taking another sip. _

_"You should get one!" Joe had decided, a wicked grin spreading across his face._

_"Maybe." Ginny had said thoughtfully, not realizing that the next day she would indeed have one. She should have known, Tyler was easily swayed and Joe was constantly getting in trouble for his impulsive behavior. _

_"Jeez, Gin, no tattoo?" Tyler asked her, everybody knew he had a portrait of his mother when she was young on his back, his tribute to her before she died. _

_"I've got a ton of 'em." Joe boasted, holding up his right arm to show an anchor even though he'd never been in the navy._

_"Even I have one, my third husbands name." Vera stated._

_"I've got a butterfly on my fanny." Deidre stated. After that the subject changed._

_The next day was when a tiny man who always had immaculate shoes started arriving, and always sat in Ginny's section, every day. He was small and elf like, stooped with age but very friendly and well-groomed and not nearly as small as Professor Flitwick. He thought Ginny was just gorgeous, a light filled face to counteract the olive toned beauties he was surrounded by in his native Italy._

_This idea was one of the many reasons that most people believed the little man was bonkers. Really, it was because he had been around muggles for so long he was fed up with being careful about his behavior and let his wizarding eccentricities shine through. He instantly recognized Ginny for what she was._

_"Ginny, you leave with me today?" the hopeful little Italian, Mossimo asked, just like he had everyday for the past four months. _

_"I got a double today." Ginny grinned at him. She thought he was just adorable and knew he was wizard, his wand always in his pocket. Plus, he left great tips. _

_"Oh, hell Ginny!" Vera yelled from across the diner. "Just leave with him! Get outta here while you can! And see if you can take Tyler with ya!" her voice was so determined and Ginny understood that she meant it, Vera confessed to have gotten hired there when she was only 21. _

_"I no take muggles, I get him job with friend at museum." Mossimo said solemnly, shaking his head with his eyes shut while the cook watched from the kitchen with amazement. _

_"Y'know what? Fine, I'll go. What do you say, Tyler? Wanna go to Italy?" Ginny decided, dropping the rag she used to clean tables down in front of the old man._

_"Sure. Nothin' holdin' me here but bad memories." Tyler stated. He talked as if he were far older than 23. _

_Just a few days later, Ginny was training as an assistant to the biggest shoe designer in Europe, learning the trade completely, getting art lessons from Tyler when he wasn't working in art restoration in Rome. _

_The two of them had almost fallen in love. Almost, until Tyler realized, unlike Mossimo, he really did have a love for the olive skinned women of the land. That was fine with Ginny, she ended up traveling around with a tiny man who entranced her completely._

"I don't see how you can consider people who force tattoos on you as friends." Molly was grumbling as the dishes washed themselves under her supervision.

"Different life, different fun." Ginny stated, staring at the glass of water that definitely was not wine, hoping no one noticed that her eyes glistened from the memories of friends she'd left behind.

Despite leaving them, she still had reminders of each of them, etched into her skin. Tattoos to her were completely personal pieces of art, but she knew better than trying to explain this to her mother.

"So, what's for dessert?" Ginny asked, hoping to distract her parents.

"Your father and I are having cake, you're bringing cookies." Molly answered as she fussed around in the kitchen.

"Bringing them where?" Ginny asked, her voice weary.

"To Ron and Hermione's. They didn't think having you for the full meal would go so well." Molly dropped a plate of chocolate chip cookies in front of her and as the plate dropped, so did Ginny's stomach. This would be a new level of hell. The kind of hell that tasted good, but was still hell.


	10. Baboons With Cookies

Ta-da! An early post! I was inspired by all the beautiful reviews (although all apologies to Jason for not posting this as AU) and by the fact that it's the weekend! Which means I didn't have to go to work today and I don't have to go to class tonight! Just as a heads up, for those of you who plan on succeeding in college, it's actual work. I know, terrible.

And a big huge thanks for all the reviews! But don't worry, the story still has a ways to go. It ended up being 17 chapters and I rather like the ending. When I thought of this story, it was the first part I planned out in my head, so it's been building up for me for a very long time. You're not the only one who had to deal with the anticipation_  
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* * *

_Why didn't Mum just send me to deal with baboons? Baboons are at least amusing_. Ginny's mind grumbled as she stood on the doorstep of Ron and Hermione's small house, listening to the two of them arguing on the other side of the door.

"I don't want her in here! It's bad enough she's ruining my parent's home!" Ron was yelling.

"It means a lot to your mum to piece this family back together!" Hermione yelled back. The door opened just a crack before slamming shut again. For the third time since Ginny had knocked.

Ginny just rolled her eyes, helping herself to a cookie, this would undoubtedly take awhile. She heard something, sounded like a plate, smash to the ground and then Hermione yell something inaudible, and then a spell fixing the plate. Ginny was almost sure she heard the word "every time," so the two had never really gotten over their habit of fighting.

"Look, I really need to use the toilet, so can you two pretend I'm not in your bathroom instead of not on your doorstep?" Ginny yelled at the peep hole of the door.

"And if we don't?" Ron called cautiously from the other side of the door.

"Then I'll pee in your bushes." A great deal of muffled arguing followed that in a very small amount of time, and then the door opened.

"I am not sacrificing my geraniums just because you won't try to make amends!" Hermione hissed as the door slid open.

Once done with the facilities, Ginny found her brother and sister in law glaring at each other across the kitchen table, milk and three glasses set out. Ron had a milk mustache that he was apparently unaware with and Hermione was glaring so hard it was quite possible that she didn't even see it.

"So…nice loo." Ginny said, breaking the very tense silence.

"Thanks. Get out." Ron stated back, never taking his eyes off his wife.

"Don't you dare! I refuse let this family fall apart over your little episode, Ginny! I have worked very hard to make conversation and pleasantries and pretend everything is okay, and I will not have my work and research thrown away because RONALD CAN'T GET OVER HIS TEMPER TANTRUM LONG ENOUGH FOR COOKIES." Hermione seethed.

"I haven't said no to any cookies!"

"You researched this? Like reading books about it?" Ginny asked.

"I--yes."

"You mean to tell me there are books about what to do when your best friends sort of girlfriend who's also your husband's little sister runs off without contacting anyone for seven years?"

"Not exactly…I read several books."

Ginny just snorted in response.

"What?" Hermione demanded, her temper now flaring up like Ron's.

"Was it in _Hogwarts, a History_ or something? Gods, Hermione you never could play anything by ear."

"And what is that supposed to mean?!"

"Oh, sorry, sorry. You're not going to try and pretend to be fine and then secretly cry, are you? You always did back in school."

"That is true, Hermione." Ron admitted, his looks softening slightly.

"It is not!"

"Is to."

"You're agreeing with her, Ron?!"

"You're just bitter because when you tried to make amends on Friday she wasn't nice and willing to play fair! Because she's an inconsiderate prat!" Ron spat those last words at Ginny, who merely shrugged.

A very long silence followed as Hermione pretended not to be upset, Ron tried to figure out if he could get away with getting another cookie and Ginny wondered if it'd be rude to leave the plate or if her mother wanted it back that night.

Finally, Ron decided to say something: "Ginny, you should apologize."

"Okay, I'm sorry."

"No! I mean you should mean it, I want you to sincerely apologize to Hermione and me. For everything. And I mean sincere!"

"Fair enough. I'm sorry you two and Harry didn't feel the need to defend me over the nose ring and started the whole chain of events that led to me leaving for so long."

"That's not an apology!"

"Is too, said sorry."

"That is not the criteria for an apology."

"Yeah!"

"Well, obviously you two are not about to forgive me, even if you claim you are, Hermione. I know you were put up to talking to me the other night. And you think it's totally selfish that I ran away, and it is, and you think I'm an absolutely horrible person, and I am, and you probably don't want me to smoke in your kitchen even though it would make me feel tons better, so I won't. But I won't apologize for leaving." Ginny said as the two shifted their eyes onto her and her alone.

"So you admit that it was selfish to leave." Ron said, slightly smug.

"Yep."

"But you won't apologize?" Hermione asked, her brow furrowed.

"Nope."

"Why not?" They asked at the same time.

"Because."

"That's not enough reason, Ginny."

"Because the alternative was horrible."

"The alternative to what?" Ron asked, thoroughly confused at this point.

"The alternative to leaving: staying. The thought of just taking the nose stud out and pretending to be okay with it, and not dealing with the fact that you three made no attempt to stand up for me and no one worried about what I wanted and constantly pretending everything's okay when it wasn't and not being able to get away in any sense and never knowing if I could make it on my own, and then the thought of coming back reached the point of being unbearable. Crawling back, completely ashamed, doomed to never hear the end of my failed attempt at freedom, always wondering what would happen if I went just one more place, constantly having the horrid feeling that I'd settled whispering from the back of my mind where I would store it until one day I completely blew up and yelled so much that my heart would give out and I would die by forty. And let's not forget I was only eighteen , and even though that was the oldest I'd ever been at the time, I must say, it's quite young."

"You just monologue'd." Ron gaped, not finding what she said to be logical at all, while Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"Say it." Ginny prompted to Hermione, grabbing a cookie.

"Say what?" Ron asked dumbly.

"Say it."

"Well…that does almost make sense…"

"No!"

"Hear me out, Ronald. I mean, it all remains quite stupid and selfish, but being able to tolerate the feeling of abandonment while trying to prove to yourself that you're an adult and then leaving and becoming trapped by those feelings and unsure of what to do exactly, but being convinced coming back isn't the answer until you absolutely have to…well, it is very human."

"You're on her side?!"

"No! I'm just saying, that, well, though it was taken to an extreme, it's not exactly inconceivable…"

"I knew you were thinking something like that!" Ginny cheered.

"I can't believe you were thinking something like that!" Ron countered. "After all my family's been through, all because of her, you're on her side!"

"I'm not on her side, I'm just saying that human emotions are often irrational, and the fact that she felt unable to return to the family for fear of the repercussions, well, it's not that far fetched…"

"If you two are just going to insist on talking about me like here, I'm just going to duck out for a quick smoke, be right back…probably." Ginny said, escaping the skirmish.

"It is too far fetched! It's beyond far fetched, it's…not even fetched!"

Ginny slipped out the back door to a small, well kept lawn with one small tree and very well trimmed grass. She sighed as she stood on the small cement slab of a porch. It would be a good long while before the two of them would be in any condition to speak to others, so she went ahead and lit up, glad to finally have a break long enough to actually smoke.

This certainly was a fine mess. Although, not terribly surprising. She knew what was going on now, Ron and Hermione were probably going to need to go to St. Mungo's before long. She took another long drag, much as she hated to admit it, she really did need to quit. It would make running easier…

"Okay, Ginny, come back in, we're ready to talk." Ron was the one speaking, but both of he and Hermione were standing in the doorway, arms wrapped around each other, two sets of googley eyes in action. Ginny took a moment just to gape.

"You're done fighting? Really?"

"Yep."

"How?"

"We just are. How could I fight with him for so long? He's just so sincere…"

"And she thinks everything through so much…"

"All right, that's not fair, give me some of the alcohol you two have obviously chugged."

Ron scowled and Hermione chortled something about being responsible. Ginny just shook her head, realizing why Ron and Hermione worked as well as they did.

The two had passion. Unbridled, unrelenting, uncanny passion for each other. They fought like wet cats, but that was the trick, the two were willing to fight. It was sweet in a masochistic kinda way.

"So, you forgive me now?" Ginny asked, not expecting much.

"Hardly." Ron snorted.

"Ron and I have decided that we will give you a second chance, seeing as you did come back and seem to want to make amends, but we will not trust you." Hermione declared.

"At all." Ron tacked on.

"And we don't appreciate what you did to Harry!" Hermione added, a bit harsher than before.

"Right, 'cause he's obviously been pining after me, wishing I was still here as he went off and got engaged."

"That's not fair! He was really upset when you left!" Hermione shot back.

"So upset that he's marrying someone else! I just don't think it's fair that you want to use that against me when he's obviously moved on."

"It's plenty fair, he's our friend! And you two were together when you took off!" Ron interjected.

"Hardly! We barely spoke anymore, and he hadn't touched me in who knows how long."

"He touched you?!"

"Still, it's not fair for you to just leave him!" Hermione responded, both females ignoring Ron in his little fit.

"He didn't feel the need to stop me, so I took that as his way of deciding to end it."

"That's not fair, and you know it."

"I do know it, doesn't change that that's the way it ended up. We all know that a single moment can be far more important that any of us realize till the moment's done. That's life. It sucks, I know, but it's all we got."

Hermione crossed her arms, frowning. She recognized this as a fight that she would never be able to win. Thoughtfully she started rubbing the back of her now hyperventilating husband as she watched Ginny. She was so resigned to the situation as hopeless, so sure of everything, it was almost bizarre.

"You never gave up on him before." she pointed out.

"I never felt abandoned by him before."

"But he'd left you."

"To go fight a war! I kinda saw that one coming. Ties into the whole nobility thing, but simply throwing in the towel when I needed him, blindsided me a bit."

"You're being a bit harsh."

"So?"

"So it's not fair!"

"So?"

_"Where _did he touch you?!"

"Oh, get over it, Ron! I'm 25, I've been touched before and I'll be touched again!"

"Thanks, Ginny. This is just what I need, help me get my husband off the floor."

"Leave him there, trust me, he'll be fine in a few minutes."

"How do you know?"

"I taught a boy who was prone to the same type of tantrums."

"Taught? You're not serious."

"I am!"

"What could you have taught?"

"English. I speak it good."

Ginny smiled down at her convulsing brother, her mind filling with the memories of her time in St. Petersburg.

_Ginny looked around, unsure of what she was going to do exactly. She had stepped off the train just a few hours ago, thinking St. Petersburg sounded like the friendliest place in Russia. So far, she had misheard. Sitting in a small café, life looked bleak. She had money, but she had no drive, and was one rib short of a set. _

_"I am coffee drink." she heard the woman one table over say over and over again, her accent thick. She was by herself, a slim, well put together blond woman with cold brown eyes and an outfit that looked like it cost more than Ginny did._

_"Sorry, ma'am? It's I am drinking coffee." Ginny finally corrected, her nerves were not doing so well and hearing the woman say it wrong over and over again was far too grating for her to handle at the moment. _

_The woman gave her a sharp look, scanned her messy hair and wrinkled clothes with obvious distaste, but slid the empty chair at her table in Ginny's direction. _

_"Come, interview." the woman commanded. _

_"Interview? For what?" Ginny asked, but she moved anyways. She really needed some help in Russia._

_"I have son, Mikhail. He need help with English. I interview you, you good enough, you watch and teach him."_

_"How do you know I'm not crazy?" _

_"Even if you crazy, Mikhail will break you. I need strong, not sane." _

_'She's a nut, an absolute nut.' Ginny thought to herself. _

_"All right, interview me." she said anyways._

_Ginny followed the strange little woman into her mansion, now convinced that she was indeed insane. But, part of the deal was free room and board with food in exchange for watching the little brat, and who can argue with that? _

_"Now, you interview with Mikhail. He like you, you have job. He not like you, you leave." the woman, or Mrs. Romanikov as she preferred to be called, stated. She took Ginny into the library of the house, with the walls completely covered in books so much that Ginny felt that she was walking into an old movie, the room of the house where the murders always took place, to find a small, sly boy, who looked quite a bit like his mother, spinning a globe so fast there was a chance that the real earth didn't even move that quickly. _

_"Mikhail!" the woman said sharply, and then ordered him around in Russian. With a deep sigh he slumped over to the two women._

_"I no like." he stated, staring at Ginny's rumpled state in disdain._

_"It's I do not like." Ginny corrected, and then added 'you little prat.' under her breath. _

_The boy just sneered at her. _

_"You two interview, I come back in few minute for decision." and with that the woman marched out of the room with plenty of formality. _

_"So, you're Mikhail." Ginny said, strolling around the room, examining the books. Which really did no good since they were all in Russian. _

_"I do not like you." Mikhail stated, watching her._

_"Look kid, I really don't care if you hate me, love me, or hope I catch on fire, I need a place to live, and your mum thinks you need someone here to keep an eye on you. Let's make a deal. You let me get hired, I don't hold you back too much. What do you say?"_

_The boy stood, deep in thought, his brow creased in all seriousness. _

_"We have deal." _

_"We have a deal."_

_"Stop doing that!"_

_"Very good." _

_The deal was made, and Ginny made herself a deal, too. Sure, the kid was a pain, but she could handle this free living for a year. One little year. That's all it would take to prove that she was more than just a flake who got lucky but someone who could actually do something with her life by her own means._

_It was an okay deal, Ginny got a huge bedroom all to herself, and a full bathroom. The best part was her view though, her window looked right into the gorgeous steeples St. Petersburg was known for. The whole nannying tutor deal how ever, wasn't so great, however this deal got a bit easier when, two months in, she found the liquor cabinet. Which was very necessary since Ginny soon discovered Mikhail was not only mean, he was violent. It didn't help at all that his mother was constantly busy with some type of society work, the classic upper class mum, one more concerned with image than substance. The father was never around, and Ginny knew for a fact he had at least two mistresses. _

_So the kid had reason to be messed up, but then again, he took it to the extreme. It was almost exactly one year after being hired when Ginny had the last bit that she could stand. _

_"I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU!" Ginny roared at the devious, vicious now teenager. Mikhail stood there, a small grin on his ironically angelic features._

_"What is problem?" Mrs. Romanikov demanded, stomping into the living room where the meltdown was occurring. It was one of the rare occurrences when she was actually home._

_"HE TRIED TO SET ME ON FIRE!" Ginny said, pointing a very angry finger at Mikhail just in case there was any question._

_"True?" the mother asked, her eyebrows raised with suspicion. _

_"She said it would be okay." he shrugged._

_"When?!"_

_"When I first met you. Last year."_

_"I said it'd be okay if you wanted to, not if you ACTUALLY TRIED!"_

_"Just misunderstanding, back to work." Mrs. Romanikov ordered as if this was just a small dilemma. _

_"No, not a misunderstanding! A vicious, cruel action! I have had enough of this, enough with his tantrums when I tell him no, enough of your never being around, enough of this whole bloody situation! I quit!" _

_"You're leaving?" the boy asked, his eyes growing big. With his arms still behind his back, he stepped towards her, his eyes shining in the light. "You leave me? I never see you again? We are not friends?" he asked, his voice just dripping with need. "Can I have hug?"_

_"Nice try, but I know you still have the matches behind your back. I'm going to pack and I'm going to leave and I am never going to see any of you again." Ginny stated. _

_Mikhail through his matches down in frustration. _

_"Where you go?" the older woman asked, her voice showing she wasn't quite sure if Ginny was really going to go or just suck it up like she had been for the past year. _

_"Phoenix, Arizona in the states. It's hot, dry, I'm partial to the name, and NONE OF YOU ARE THERE."_

"I cannot see you as a teacher." Ron said, pulling himself off the floor.

"Well, I wasn't a very good one…my only pupil did try to burn me."

"Burn you?"

"Yeah, you know, he wanted to fire me, and took it to the extreme." Ginny giggled. Ron and Hermione didn't laugh.


	11. Larry, Curly, and Arthur Chubby Butt

So, funny story, a friend of mine is the inspiration for part of this chapter. The part where Ginny's out running and meets the crazy guy, based on fact. Not even kidding. It's ridiculous, but it's true, so never say that I don't write true stories. Or that I have normal friends.

A hug and a handshake to all my gorgeous little reviewers. Really, when I wrote this, I didn't really expect anyone to read it. I just needed to get it out of my head. I'm slightly overwhelmed with how much people seem to like it.

* * *

_Ugh, I have never been so tired in my life because if I was, I would have to kill myself right now to make sure it never happens again. _Ginny's mind swore. She had left Ron and Hermione's as fast as she could, and safely back in the Burrow, she just wanted to crawl into bed forever.

"Back so early?" her father asked, reading the paper in his old favorite chair.

"It's like 3 am!" Ginny pointed out, shocked.

"No it's not, it's barely 10! Look at the clock!" he insisted.

"Sure, if you're going by that time it is." Ginny scoffed, shuffling up the stairs.

"I can't tell if she has always been this weird and we just blocked it out because we missed her or she went crazy." Arthur mumbled to himself, getting back into his paper.

Ginny's eyes fluttered open with the first sun, and she just groaned. Again. Again she was up at 5:30 in the am. Again, she completely hated herself. And this time she didn't even have a hangover. She supposed it was what she got for being on her own twisted clock, but she still absolutely hated it.

With a sigh, she found her running shoes under a pile of dirty clothes. 'When in doubt: run' had sort of become her mantra. This time she decided to throw a t-shirt on, to spare a few of the older ladies from having to share her for immodesty and reckless choices.

She avoided the sidewalk this time, unwilling to fall under the hypnotic sound of her own footsteps. She headed towards the Lovegoods again, not really intending on bothering Phil this morning, she figured he would probably be asleep this morning. So she was rightfully surprised to find two people in front of the house, who instantly waved her over.

"Hello, Gin!" Luna chirped, positively delighted to see her friend. Her husband, Rolf, was with her, and he just beamed at her in greeting. Rolf was over a head taller than his wife, with dark hair and eyes, he countered her looks beautifully in Ginny's eyes.

"Hi! What're you two doing here?" Ginny panted as she walked over, glad she had decided on the shirt since not even Luna Lovegood-Scamander was okay with the idea of her husband seeing other women so undressed.

"We came in early to see Daddy for awhile before the wedding." Luna explained, leaning on her husband, completely relaxed.

"The wedding? As in Harry's? Is it all ready that close?"

"Just around the corner." Rolf said.

"Oh, wow. Do you have an invitation? I haven't even seen one yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm invited, since I live at the place it's being held."

"No, sorry, I passed it along somewhere." Luna responded.

"Uh, right…So what are you two up to while you're here?"

"Oh, helping Phil with the business…"

"A bit of gardening…"

"Look for a few plants…"

"Playing with the gnomes…"

"So nothing new for you two, eh?" Ginny grinned. She found the two of them to be highly amusing. They found their normal couple activities, like going out to dinner, to be just as normal as their…less than normal activities, such as living in a rain forest for three months with only their wands and knowledge of the plants and animals. It was a very exciting honeymoon for those two.

"You know what would be a fun project for the three of us?" Ginny asked, her eyes shining with a very dangerous gleam.

"What?" Luna asked, slightly cautious, she had seen that gleam a few times.

"Lots and lots of babies! It would be so much fun, Luna always preggers, Rolf up to his elbows in diapers, and me! The favorite auntie!"

"No." the couple answered dully.

"Oh, come on! You two would have such lovely kids, and I would be the best auntie ever!"

"Is that what the nieces and nephews you already have would say?" Rolf asked, his eyebrow raised.

"Well, Victoire probably would, Dominique, not so much. The rest of them can't really talk, so it cuts down on the whole saying aspect of this." Ginny answered thoughtfully.

"Ginny, you know that Rolf and I will have babies when we're ready. You'll probably beat us to it."

Ginny just snorted.

"It's true! The two of us decided to wait till we felt we were done traveling for awhile."

"So, what you're saying is you expect me and…well, me and me alone, to have a baby? Really? You do know that the whole baby making thing takes more than one party, right? And don't get me started on how well adjusted the kid would be! I mean, just playing with your kids, I won't ruin it too much, but if _I _had to raise it? Forget it, the kids a goner."

"Your adventures as a single mum could work as an article for _The Quibbler_…" Luna thought out loud, spacing out with thought.

"Nevermind! I've said too much, this conversation has reached the dangerous point, I'll just continue my run, no harm, no foul." Ginny said, her hands up in defeat.

"Go get the body that will seduce lots of baby daddys!" Rolf called to Ginny's back as she ran off, Ginny heard Luna giggling as she went.

Ginny put off going back as long as she possibly could, but it reached the point that her legs were screaming and her voice would have joined if it weren't for the fact that she was too dried out, every bit of liquid in her body turned to sweat. She couldn't even complain because she was weezing so much from smoking. She was just about to give up as she ran through the muggle town, but a rather unusual sight caught her eye, making her stop.

"HEY, LADY!" the unusual sight shouted at her, "YOU WANT THIS CAT?!" a male, who looked to be close to thirty, was standing at the street corner, waving a kitten in the air.

"What?" Ginny asked, walking over to him, thoroughly confused.

"I don't wanna him, you want him?!" the man demanded, still holding the small feline with one hand.

"Er, alright." with that, the guy thrust the terrified kitten into her arms and walked away.

Ginny jogged back to the Burrow rather carefully with the kitten held to her chest with one hand, not sure exactly what had just happened. He was small and orange, not ginger, but an obnoxious orange through and through. His wide eyes were bright yellow, his expression terrified and confused.

Once back inside, Ginny made a bee line for her bedroom, kitten in her shirt, pretending not to see the nieces playing in the back yard as her mother watched, her father chasing them around, thoroughly enjoying his day off. She dumped the fur ball on her bed and quickly healed the multiple scratches he had left on her.

"Okay, kitten, I'm gonna go shower off real fast, you stay here and pretend you don't exist, 'kay?"

"Mew?"

"I--I don't know what you mean, I don't speak kitten…"

"Mew?"

"Right, I'll shower, and we'll both pretend this conversation didn't happen so I don't feel so crazy. I'll clean up real fast, get you a bowl of water or milk or whatever when I get back. Deal?"

"Mew?"

As soon as she was out of the shower and dressed, Ginny headed downstairs, ignoring the small orange paw swiping at her from beneath her own doorway. She made her way to the kitchen and went straight for the bowls, completely ignoring her surroundings. The sound of a newspaper rustling made her stop dead in her tracks, a blue bowl in hand.

"Do you ever stop reading the paper?" she asked her father as he sat at the table, a cup of coffee in front of him.

"Eventually I stop, but only long enough to pick up the next paper."

"So, it's like, a daily thing, then?"

"Basically."

"I was thinking that I might, as inspiration to quit drinking, I might get a pet…a kitten…"

"As inspiration to stop drinking?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You already got one, eh?"

"…Yes. It's not my fault though, some crazy man practically threw him at me! You're not going to make me get rid of him, are you?"

"Ginny, the last time one of us tried to make you get rid of something, you disappeared for seven years. Keep the cat, name him Arthur Chubby Butt for all I care."

"Arthur Chubby Butt? Is that all one word? Hyphenated? What?"

"I was thinking three separate words. On second thought, though, please don't name him that."

"I was actually thinking of naming him Julio…"

"Julio? What? After some Mexican pool boy you knew on one of your crazy adventures?"

"…No, I just like it…"

With her status of pet owner fully insured, Ginny went upstairs and got Julio Arthur Chubby Butt Weasley from her room, where he had already swallowed half of a lace from her running shoe.

"Guess what! You get to stay! Because I'm spoiled!"

"Mew?"

With kitten in tow, Ginny headed down the stairs, excited about the new idea. If she could keep this little cat alive, surely she could keep herself from dying. How much harder could a kitten be than her own self?

"I don't have a MOH!" the blast of the cry nearly knocked Ginny over as she walked into the kitchen. That, and shock. She didn't know how her father got his voice to be that high.

"Now, now, dear, it'll be all right…" her mother was comforting a sobbing Hilary, which made slightly more sense than her father being the one crying.

"What's going on?" Ginny asked Hermione, who was standing by watching the fiasco looking distraught.

Hilary was absolutely sobbing, draped over the table her father had abandoned, Molly trying to put the girl back together and Victoire and Dominique watched solemnly. It was all a bit overwhelming.

"She doesn't have a MOH." Hermione whispered back, passing tissues to Molly.

"I guess I see the problem, it wouldn't be very funny with just Larry and Curly…" Ginny muttered.

"What? No! M-O-H. Maid of Honor." Hermione explained.

"What am I going to do?" Hilary wailed, making Ginny flinch. She wasn't good with the whole crying thing.

"I'll be your MOH." Victoire offered, looking just as upset as the so-called adults around her.

"That's very sweet, but the dress won't fit you." Molly answered for the still crying Hilary.

"Would it fit me?" Dominique asked, more interested in getting a dress.

"No, no, it's too big for you, it was for Hilary's cousin, who eloped this past weekend, and won't be back for four months…Her dress is already custom made, she's a rather petite girl, very small in the waist, built like your Aunt Ginny, actually…"

Ginny pretended she didn't hear that.

"I can't have no MOH! My cousin, I can't believe she abandoned me like this! The wedding is only two weeks away! And there's so much planning to be done! She didn't finish planning the shower, the rehearsal dinner, the bachelorette party! She offered to take on more, and now there's no one to do it! Someone would have to have absolutely nothing else to do but plan my wedding in order to make this work! The Ministry won't give me any more days off, I'm totally stuck!" Hilary continued to cry, ripping right through the tissues with her tears.

"I get why she's here, but why are you here?" Ginny asked Hermione, completely ignoring the look her mother was giving her.

"We met for lunch when the owl came." Hermione answered gravely.

"Why don't you do it, Hermione? You're really good at planning stuff." Ginny joked, Hermione once again didn't find her joke to be funny.

"Ginny, is that a kitten?" Molly asked, perplexed at the fuzz ball that was gnawing on Ginny's wrist.

"…I think there are more important things to worry about here, Mum! Someone needs to help Hilary! Someone needs to talk to the caterer, help with the parties, to help with flowers, start writing thank you cards." Ginny pointed out, her voice raised for emphasis, hoping to get the attention off of her for once.

"There is so much." Hilary stated sadly.

"And to make sure the grooms get their tuxes together, finalize seating arrangements. There is just so much! Hilary, I want to do my part, I want to help out. In fact, I insist on doing my part, Hilary, would you like it if I--"

"Oh, Ginny!! It'd be perfect! You have nothing but time, don't you? And you already planned your own wedding, I'm sure! You could just do it all again, but for me! And this way my special day is saved! Ginny, you'll be the best maid of honor! I'm sure blue is your color!" Hilary gushed, her eyes bright with relief.

"Er, what?"

"You're so close to my stupid cousin's size, it won't take much at all to adjust the dress, and it's not like you don't know the place the ceremony will be, and I'm sure you know most of the guests!"

"I got a kitten! Everyone! Start yelling at me!"

"Can I pet it?"

"No! Yell at me for that!"

"And it will just prove that you really are okay with me marrying Harry! Ginny, you're so amazing! I mean, I was always jealous of you at school, but this is absolute proof you're a far better person than anyone gives you credit for! I really can't thank you enough! I'll be over right after work and we can get to work. It's so convenient you don't have to work, it'll make it so much easier for you to get things done! You'll be the best MOH ever!" Hilary was crying again, this time with joy as she left to get back to work.

Hermione stayed behind to stare at Ginny with Molly, who was shocked silent.

"I cannot believe you, Ginny." Hermione started, "Why would you offer to be her MOH?!"

"I didn't! I don't even want to be her Shemp! I was going to offer to make her _shoes_!"

A wicked grin spread across Mrs. Weasley's face as she looked at her distraught daughter.

"What? What is so funny? How is this enjoyable? How will this help me not drink?" Ginny demanded, ready to climb to the top of the house and jump off, hoping to join the ghoul in the attic.

"Oh, I don't think this will make you feel better at all, I think it'll make you grow up." Molly responded, her voice absolutely evil.

"I don't want to grow up, I want to ignore the damn wedding, and spend time with my kitten who has a very long name, and find a way to keep my giant owl from eating him, and I want to pretend all of this is not happening." Ginny grumbled, holding Julio closer.

"Too bad! You have to do this!" Molly chirped.

"And if I don't?" Ginny asked, trying to feel brave.

"You get to explain to Hilary and Harry why you can't."

"Because I don't want to! I didn't appreciate the jab she took at my wedding." Ginny went back to grumbling.

"Right, that's the reason." Molly rolled her eyes, positively brimming with joy.

"It is!" Ginny objected.

Molly just gave Ginny the 'I'm the mother and therefore know best' look as Ginny tried to figure a way out of this.

"Julio, I need you to kill me. Go ahead, take a swipe at my jugular, gnaw on it if you have to!"

"Kitten suicide will not prevent you from planning this wedding."


	12. I Willna Brom Hom Dunk

Okay, so, woah. That wasn't even a real sentence, but it is what I thought when I saw that this story has over 100 reviews. I can't believe it. I also cannot thank all of you enough for sticking with this crazy little plot bunny that raged out of control.

And Happy Fourth of July to my fellow Americans! And Happy Friday to everyone else!

* * *

_She just keeps talking, _Ginny's brain pointed out, absolutely stunned that the girl didn't need more air,_it never stops. It's like her mouth has been fueled by a thousand suns. A thousand very dull suns. _

"Right," Hilary started, very cheerful, "let's have a little quiz, shall we?" she asked Ginny across the kitchen table.

Ginny fought the urge to show that she had gone completely brain dead and begin drooling.

"What are the colors of the wedding?"

"Blue and gold, blue for Ravenclaw, gold for Gryffindor."

"What shades?"

"The color of the ocean at midnight and leprechaun gold."

"What time will the ceremony take place?"

"At dusk, just as the sun begins to set so the lights can have a subtle glow."

"The decorations?"

"Twinkling lights hanging from the trees and set to just float, an ice sculpture that your uncle Gerald isn't allowed near, deep blue irises, and white chairs with gold details."

"The rest of the wedding party?"

"Your friend, Grace, and then Hermione. Ron's best man, then your brother Hamilton, and then your cousin Paul. Your mother's name is Helen and your dad's Hamilton Sr. Your grandmum on your dad's side is the only one coming, Henrietta."

"Oh, Ginny," Hilary's eyes were brimming with tears of joy, "this will be the perfect wedding. I'm so glad you offered to help! You'll be such a good MOH! And the dress is open back and short, so your tattoos will…I mean, is there any way to get rid of them? Just for the evening?"

"Do you know how tattoos work or not?"

"Right, I suppose we'll just have to use a concealment charm…"

"I like my tattoos!"

"C'mon, Ginny, it's just one night!"

"You're mad, I'm not hiding them."

"But you have a giant circus tent on your back."

"I do."

"And the dress is open back…"

"And then everyone will see it."

"At least take the nose stud and lip ring out…"

"Why? I have gold ones that will match so well."

Hilary frowned at the other girl. This wasn't exactly working like she had planned.

"And if you'd like, I can provide all the females in the wedding party shoes, could design them exactly like you want, too." Ginny offered, as she had originally planned.

"No, that's all right, we've already got shoes. Gold stilettos."

This time Ginny frowned. Gold stilettos? Was the girl serious? Outdoor wedding with grass and uneven ground mixed with spikes to balance on? Gods, weddings suck.

"Uh, okay then, I need to bop out of here for the night, we'll get back to planning soon, and the shower will be Saturday, only four days to go! I just have a few friends to see, shouldn't be gone long, just gonna check on Julio before I go." Ginny removed herself from the table, desperate for an escape, anything to get away.

In the living room, Harry was waiting, reading a book and ignoring her kitten. Her parents had gone off to treat themselves to dinner.

"C'mere, lovey," Ginny purred, Harry looked up with a start, obviously scandalized, "Oh, get over yourself, I was talking to Julio! Poor dear, been neglected all night. Would it have killed you to play with him?"

"I dunno, would it have killed you to send a note to your family?"

"At least I'm trying! I bet _I _know more about _your _own damn wedding than _you _do!"

"And I'm sure I know more about _your _family!"

"Bad news, Harry! I'm part of the family and you don't know anything about me, so there's a flaw in that argument!"

"I know plenty about you! I know you're a selfish prat who can't think of anyone but herself!"

"Right, that explains why I'm spending the next two weeks devoting myself to your wedding so your fiancée doesn't kill herself. Really shows what kind of a terrible jerk I am, doesn't it?"

"Two weeks, seven years, yeah, that's the same amount of time."

"Why can't you stop being such a prick! Everyone else is at least trying to let me make amends!"

"You weren't dating any of them."

"We weren't even dating!"

"We never broke up!"

"We never talked, either! By your definition, I'm still dating the boy who lived a few miles away who I met when I was four."

"This is completely different and you know it!"

"What's all the yelling in there?" Hilary called from the kitchen, still absorbed in her plans.

"Just Harry and me, we like to--yell, for lung strength." Ginny lied, wincing at the stupidity of it.

"Oh, all right then." Hilary answered.

"You didn't have to lie to her." Harry growled.

"Right, I should have just told her the man she's two weeks away from marrying is mad at me for leaving him seven years ago, because that's what every bride to be wants to hear about her Maid of Honor."

Ginny left right after saying that, not giving Harry a chance to respond. She didn't actually have anywhere to go, she was just desperate to get out of that house, away from the planning. She wandered about Diagon Alley for a bit, but as it was getting late, everything was starting to close besides restaurants meant for couples and pubs.

"I'm only getting in here to avoid going back and maybe have a smoke, not to drink." Ginny told herself as she walked into the pub.

Fifteen minutes later, she was saying: "I am just having one eensy little beer, that won't even get me close to drunk."

An hour later she had downed three beers and five firewhiskey shots, pouring a sixth. She'd also smoked six cigarettes.

"Tough night, red?" the very large bartender asked her.

"You don't even know!" Ginny slurred.

"What happened? What could really be that bad?" his voice was smooth, it didn't really match his large body.

"Have you ever been the MOH for and planned your ex's wedding for a little blond bird thing you don't even like? Well, don't! It sucks!" Ginny ordered, leaning onto the bar to balance as she slid off the barstool.

"Are you sure you can get yourself home? I'd be happy to take care of you here…"

"No, big scary bartender! Thanks you, buzz no. I am so okay, it's frightening. I will scare children, it is so frightening! Boo!"

The large man just rolled his eyes as the red head stumbled out of the dark bar, severely injuring her shin as she did so.

"Oh, no, I made a bad idea." Ginny slurred to herself. "Can't go home! I will not go home drunk! I will snot go home drunk! I willnt come home drunk! I willna brom hom dunk! I willna brom hom--oh buggers, I'm dunk! Looks like I will go hom dunk! Durnk! Drunk! Buggers."

After starting off with a few stumbled steps and a good bout of giggles at herself, Ginny made her way back to the Burrow where her parents were thankfully asleep. After stepping on Julio only once, and stubbing her toe three times, she made into bed where she successfully passed out.

Until frighteningly early the next day, when her mother barged in.

"Get up!"

"I can't, so much hurt on my little body…"

"Up! Up! C'mon, into the shower!"

"I can't do it! I need a break from the wedding planning! I don't care what color the plates are, or if Uncle Gerald sits by the ice sculpture, I just don't care! Let me sleep in peace!"

"This isn't about the wedding, although Uncle Gerald really isn't allowed near that thing, you're meeting Percy for breakfast."

"Percy who?"

"Your brother! He's the only one you haven't spent some time with, so off you go, into the shower!"

"Oh, there are so many other things I would rather do!" Ginny grumbled, getting up despite.

"Like what?"

"Play the longest game of chess possible."

"And how long would that be?"

"Theoretically, 5,949 moves."

"How on earth do you know that?"

"I met a chess pro and had him teach how to beat Ron. Turns out I'm not very good at chess."

"Oh, just go shower."

Thirty minutes later, Ginny was sitting across from her brother, his glasses guarding his blinking eyes as he tried to decide how he wanted his eggs. She frowned at her pumpkin juice, the waitress hadn't had pineapple, not sure what to say. She and Percy had never been that close, honestly, and how they were supposed to suddenly be close was a bit…perplexing.

"Well, Ginny, I think I'll have my eggs over easy, and just want to remind you, I left the family for two years."

"I was thinking eggs Florentine--wait, what?"

"I left for two years, of everyone in the whole damn family, I promise I'm the only one who isn't muttering behind your back."

"What are they muttering?"

"I know how hard it is to come back, Gin. I know what you're going through."

"Have they really been talking about me?"

"Do try and focus, it's not natural for me to be so emotional."

"Right, sorry, you understand, right, back at that."

"Ginny, what I'm trying to say is that I admire you for coming back. Even if you were drunk at the time. I had to come back for a war, and I really did have to. You didn't. No one gives you credit for that, you could have changed your name and started over, moved to America and become a pop star or some other foolish plan like that, but instead you made your way back. That's not an easy task."

"Wow, Percy, that's really nice. It's just that…"

"Yes, Gin?"

"Well, I have a kitten in my purse."

"What?"

"A kitten. Julio."

"Ginny, you've been gone for so long, I completely forgot how mad you are."

"Is that what people are muttering? That I'm mad? 'Cause that's just not nice."

Ginny was surprised at how nice a time she had with Percy during breakfast. He even gave half a piece of bacon to a mewing Julio. He also never stopped talking about his little girl, who at the time of the conversation, was obsessed with ballerina stuff, but was too shy to tell anyone but her parents.

"Since you already named your first one after Mum, you should name the next one out of me." Ginny decided as the meal came to a close.

"What? Ginevra? Ginger? Virginia? Ginny? You have a few too many options."

"Just go with my nickname!"

"Ginny?"

"My other one, uh, the one you don't know. Lucy."

"I'm really going to need an explanation, that makes absolutely no sense."

"I got it in Italy, my boss thought I was all sneaky. He used to say I should have been called Lucy, because now loo see me, now loo don't. He thought it was a real laugh."

"Maybe I still don't have a sense of humor, but I don't get it."

"Right, it doesn't make much sense if you didn't know Mossimo…I forgot that part…"

Ginny made her way back, Julio in tow despite the fact that Percy was quite taken with him, and managed to get a nap in before her mother tracked her down and demanded help with the little ones.

"Aunt Ginny," Dominique started, looking her aunt over with pure skepticism, "are you really planning Harry's wedding?"

"She is." Molly interrupted from where she was cooking in the kitchen.

"Why?" Dominique demanded.

"Because it'll be good for her!" Molly continued.

"When am I going to get this uncanny ability to know what's best, eh? When do I get to decide what I approve of?" Ginny cut in, frustrated at the pairs insistence on leaving her out.

"When you're a mum." Molly answered, dully.

"Right, good idea, I'll just go get pregnant." Ginny snorted.

"How do you do that?" Dominique questioned.

"Yeah, great idea," Molly snorted back, ignoring her granddaughter, "that'd be great for you right now. Should I put a sign up in George and Ron's shop, looking for a male to knock you up?"

Ginny took a minute to gape at her mother, shocked that she'd even joke like that.

"Does this mean you're having a baby, Aunt Ginny?" Dominique demanded, poking her aunt in the stomach.

"Cut it out! I'm not! It'd be a better idea if I had monkeys shoot out of my butt, at least the monkeys I would have some idea what to do with! Give a monkey a banana, you're done, and it's okay if you drop a monkey! I can deal with things I can drop!"

"Aunt Ginny, you're a freak."

"You're mean! Where's your sister? I like her better."

"You're mean!"

"You're a butt!"

"You're fat!"

"You're dead!!"

"Before you two kill each other, Ginny I need you to do me a favor." Molly interrupted as Ginny took off after the terrified girl.

"WHAT?" Ginny demanded getting the little girl into a headlock. Years of quidditch paid off, she was far more agile than her tiny counterpart.

"I'm taking the girls to meet Fleur and we're going shoe shopping, they've outgrown their dress shoes and need some for the wedding, but I promised Andromeda I'd take Teddy this evening, do you mind watching him for dinner?"

"SURE!"

"GranMolly, I'm--I'm dying! Call _The Prophet_, tell everyone that Aunt Ginny is the _murderer_!"

"Don't make a mess on the carpet, you two."

Much sooner than Ginny would prefer that evening, Ginny pushed food around her plate, staring down the little boy who had very pointedly made himself have black hair and green eyes upon entering their house. He pushed his food around, staring back up at her with a certain hardness in his young eyes.

"You don't like me." Ginny pointed out.

"Nope." the child answered, swinging his legs in the chair that was too large for him.

"Because I left Harry."

"Yup."

"Hunh." Ginny made the noise, making sure to look thoughtful.

"What?" Teddy questioned, looking at her with a great deal of suspicion.

"It's just that--oh, never mind."

"No, tell me!"

"It's just that, well, I'd heard you were smart." Ginny stated, dropping her fork down to the plate so she could lean in for emphasis.

"I am smart! I can count to a hundred!"

"Yeah, that's smart, I guess…It's just--oh, never mind."

"What?!"

"Well, I thought you were smart enough to make up your own mind, is all."

"I'm smart enough to be loyal!"

"Yeah, there's something to be said for that, I suppose…although if I were you, I'd be trying to get on _my _good side."

"Why?" Teddy asked, his face unable to confine his curiosity as it seeped out into his voice.

"Well, I'm the only one who's going to tell you the really good stories about your Harry, everyone else will just tell you the stories where he's a hero. And those aren't a good laugh, are they?"

"No…I mean, they're cool! But what other stories are there?"

Ginny leaned back in her chair getting more comfortable, letting herself think of what story would be best to start out with.

"Well, you know how he had that cloak that made him invisible?"

"The invisibility cloak!"

"Right, that's the one, this one time on the train to Hogwarts, it was his sixth year, I believe, he decided to use it to spy, and the guy he was spying on caught him."

"What did he do?" Teddy was now leaning in intently, he hadn't heard many stories where Harry broke the rules.

"He got hit in the face, bloodied his nose all up, and frozen by a spell, in the train, stuck there, nobody knew where he was."

"How did he get away?"

"Your mum found him."

"You--you knew my mum?"

"And your dad. Doesn't anyone tell you about them?"

"Just that they were heroes, and that my dad was a werewolf, but careful not the hurt anyone, not like the guy who hurt Uncle Bill."

"What? Nothing about how your dad was the greatest teacher we had for DADA? Or your mum and what a klutz she was and how she'd morph her face at the table for me and Hermione even though she wasn't supposed to because it made us happy?"

Teddy shook his head, his eyes wide.

"Granmum doesn't like to talk about it, and Harry gets all quiet when they come up."

"That's because Harry misses your dad very much, your dad and his dad were best friends at school."

"Really? They knew each other?"

"Oh, yeah! They were a little group of four, most popular kids in school!"

"My dad? Really? I'm always told that he was just smart."

"You can be smart and popular! I was!"

"Really? I didn't know that."

"You didn't know I was popular?"

"No, I didn't think you were smart."

"Oh, really nice, Teddy. Thanks."

Teddy let a small giggle out, which turned into a big laugh when Ginny through her roll at him in protest. Soon a tiny food fight broke out and Teddy hated to admit it, but he kinda liked this Ginny character.

The two were sitting on the back porch, Teddy with a red popsicle, Ginny with blue, watching the gnomes try and fight off Lei, and being surprisingly successful at it. Every so often Ginny would catch the boy looking at her tattoos or elaborately pierced ears, and would always turn away before he thought Ginny noticed.

"You can just ask about them," she finally said as Lei actually got a gnome and lifted it off the ground, causing the others to launch themselves at the bird and weigh him down.

"Did they hurt?" he asked, everyone's first question.

"Every one."

"Then why…why get them? If they hurt so much."

"Because," she started, turning to look at him, "each one reminds me of a home, and that makes each one important."

"But they hurt!"

"Memories are important, especially the ones that hurt."

Teddy bit a chunk of the popsicle and decided that that would be the night he got his grandmother to tell him about his parents, even if she didn't want to.


	13. Bloody Plaid

* * *

Greetings, and salutations! Already to lucky number thirteen, crazy, isn't it? Even though, really, it's more like finally we're at thirteen since it's taken me just about forever to get here. Work shall be done soon! But I still have class at night. AND I've started on a new story, but I'm not sure how much I like it. It's tough, trying to go through a story that's gotten such a WONDERFUL response and trying to recreate it with a new plot.

And kudos to Solarstone for giving me the best W.A.S.P. compliment ever. (If you don't know what a W.A.S.P. is look it up, it's a social term from the 90's I'm determined to keep alive). I will say, in Harry's defense, he has never been that good at two things: finding the right words or forgiving. It always takes something big for him to forgive, therefore, I say he's not a big jerk, he's just being himself, flaws and all. I never set out to make any of these characters perfect, far from, actually.

And a big hug and a handshake not just to Solarstone, but everyone for sticking with this crazy story and reviewing and reading, it's had well over 6000 hits and that simply amazes me. :)

* * *

_Just kill it and hide the body._ Ginny's mind ordered._Better yet, kill it and tell everyone, probably get a bloody medal. _

Hilary, though far from Ginny's favorite person, was bearable. This girl, this creature, with her blond hair, which wasn't natural, and her hazel eyes, that were crossed, and her tiny nose, which was so pointed it could probably cut glass, was the bane of her existence.

She was Grace, and she wanted to be the MOH, despite being first assistant manager at some little cutesy wootsey boutique off of Diagon Alley, which was _terribly _important and the most important job in the world and prevented her from being able to spend the time necessary.

The damn shower was the next day and Grace had insisted on providing the entertainment, she seemed to think that was the most important but also easiest thing to do. Now the two were finally meeting, time to get to know each other. Hermione and Hilary would be there before long, but at the moment, it was just the two of them, glaring at each other over tea.

"I still don't understand it," the blond thing sniffed for the seventeenth time since they had first met at the Burrow, "I thought Hilary would know that I can handle being MOH. We've been friends for so long."

"Well, what can I say, Grace?" Ginny growled as nicely as she could, "I'm just lucky, I guess."

So far Grace thought all the food Ginny was going to serve was too fattening, the music was awful, the location, which was The Burrow, naturally, upon Hilary's request, saying that she wanted to make sure everyone could get there and the shower would be inside, the wedding outside, very different (very dumb to Ginny), was a total dump unworthy of her presence.

Grace assured her that she'd thought of _plenty _of games, a _wonderful _little picture story to show of the couple, and that everything she had planned would be absolutely _perfect_.

"Does it really have to be at tea time?" Grace pouted, once again, this time Ginny actually looked at her and noticed the girl had practically no upper lip, "It's just been done so many times."

"Like I said," Ginny said through her teeth, "I just picked up the plans from where Hilary's cousin left them, I'm finishing, not changing."

"And a co-ed bridal shower? Isn't that a bit odd?"

"Hilary's idea, not mine."

"Couldn't you talk to her? Then again, maybe I should, I _am _her best friend."

"You do that. And while you're at it, I have a niece who is simply convinced unicorns are the best thing ever, think you could tell her that's an awful idea too? I mean, if we're going to crush one person's spirit, might as well make it two so they can mope together!"

Grace sucked her on bottom lip as she often did when watching Ginny with disdain. It made an awful sucking noise that made Ginny think of a giant bug slurping away at tea. She cringed a little every time she heard it. With a blessed pop, Hermione and the bride to be suddenly appeared.

"Sorry to rush in," Hermione started, "but we both got stuck at the office. Had us running drills, apparently they're all convinced Ministry workers can't handle themselves in a crisis."

"A fire drill, honestly," Hilary shook her head, "as if we didn't learn how to handle that in our second year."

"Well, to be fair," Grace grinned at her friend but her eyes slid over to Ginny, "we weren't all Ravenclaws, Hil."

Ginny opened her mouth to respond but was quickly cut off by a very apt Hermione, "Let's get started, shall we?"

"Now, Ginny and I were just talking, and she was wondering if maybe we should go ahead and say it's not a co-ed shower, just a girls thing, like traditionally." Grace purred, this time not looking at Ginny, but at a slightly stunned Hilary.

_Bitch, you shall pay. _Ginny's mind threatened.

"What I was _actually _saying was that maybe we should have our little shower, and then a boy's shower going on on the lawn, a place for the boys to be boys, but come in and out and not miss any of the fun!" Ginny recovered, grinning broadly.

"Yeah," Hilary stewed for a moment, "we could have separate games for them and everything! Oh, Harry'd just love that! A place to talk about quidditch and all those other silly things!"

The three others started planning exactly what would happen the next day at the shower, with Hermione furiously making lists and coming up with situations that would call for an alternative, she was probably one of the drills advocates at the Ministry. Ginny just tuned herself out of their plans and started trying to figure out how to get over to the boy's shower, which from the sounds of it, would be way more fun.

As the meeting came to a close, Grace leaving with nothing more than she came in, but Hermione having to stay up that night to finish the details, Hilary turned to Ginny with a sheepish little smile that set off several alerts in Ginny's mind.

"And the dress for tomorrow is already up in your room." the bride told her, and then quickly turned so she could leave.

"Dress?"

"Well, yes. We decided a long time we wanted everyone to know who the bridal party is, so all the boys are wearing light blue things, and all the girls are wearing yellow. The original MOH picked it out long ago, and it really is cute…"

Cute? _Cute_? Ginny hated being called cute, it came from years of everyone thinking she was always so young when she was really just short. But when Grace's acid smile made its way to her overly made up face, Ginny knew she was stuck.

"Then I'm sure it'll look fine on me." she said through a locked jaw, keeping her smile in place.

"Great!" Hilary chirped and with final goodbyes and final glares from Grace, Hermione stayed behind and helped with cleaning spells as Ginny got the food to start itself.

"I'm a bit surprised at you, Gin," Hermione started a few minutes into he work, "I didn't think you could handle all this. I was almost sure you'd call it quits, especially after meeting Grace. Ron's just waiting for you to sprint out the door."

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for a good wedding." Ginny answered in a dull voice.

"I mean, it really shows that you've grown up quite a bit. No longer as immature as everyone thought you'd be when you came back."

"Uh, thanks…"

"And the fact that you seem to have sobered up so much! It's really quite amazing."

"Er…"

"This really all just shows that we were all wrong in what were expecting from you, everyone thought you'd just be this mess! I mean, the tattoos and piercings show something that's less than the epitome of maturity, but you seem to be putting forth such effo--"

"Hermione! No more compliments!"

"Sorry."

The next morning, Ginny had he house ready, the decorations were up, the food was ready to go, and she was showered. Now the only task was wearing the dress that had been approved for her thanks to the original MOH.

"Come on, Julio, shred it! Please!" she begged to the kitten, who just yawned from his place on the bed. "Bloody, plaid. Who picks bloody plaid?"

The dress was a strappy sundress, bright yellow with white plaid. It looked like something a 1950s housewife would wear. It was something that was very _cutesy_.

"Oh, Gin, you look _adorable_!" Ginny almost ran back upstairs to change after hearing her mother gush. "The nose and lip rings don't really help, but the dress is adorable! Nothing like what you've worn since you've been back, it's just so _sweet_. Although, hiding a few tattoos might help the situation…"

"C'mon, Mum, the tattoos stay. I mean, the sun tat even _goes _with the bloody dress."

"There's no need to be so crude."

"But it's bloody _plaid_."

It wasn't long before the other bridesmaids and Hilary arrived, all in yellow.

"Oh, Ginny!" Hilary returned to the state of gushing, "everything looks so wonderful! And so do you! Wow, Ginny, I had no idea you could be so _cute_!"

"I haven't seen you in something like that since--since…"

"I was twelve, Hermione. I haven't dressed like this since I was twelve." Ginny dead panned.

"Here we are!" Molly twittered, slipping in between Hermione and the glaring Grace with a white headband.

"What's it for?" Ginny asked cautiously.

"Oh, that'll go so perfectly!" Hilary chirped. Ginny was really getting sick of the girls inability to come up with new adjectives.

Without any grace or warning, Mrs. Weasley stuck the headband on her daughter's head and the look was complete. With a chorus of "awws!" to announce it, the moment where Ginny completely lost her dignity had arrived.

"You're like something out of a magazine!" Hilary swooned.

"It really is quite nice," Hermione commented.

"It'd never sell at the boutique." Grace finished.

The shower was started too soon for Ginny's taste, and a huge crowd showed up just too see if it was true, if Ginny really had arrived back into their lives.

"Wow, you look, wow!" Seamus Finnegan smiled. "Look a bit different this time 'round."

"Yeah, a bit more proper than the party at Deans…but don't worry, I'm not wearing any underwear to make up for it." Ginny responded, raising one eyebrow. Seamus sputtered away, straight to his friends.

"Oh, thank Merlin!" Ginny gasped out in relief when two people she still liked arrived. Coming through the door was Neville, helping his very pregnant wife, Hannah Abbot-Longbottom. "I'm so glad you two are here!" Ginny went in to embrace the two of them, but stopped short as the two of them had looks on their faces that Ginny couldn't quite place. "What? What is it?" she asked, feeling dumb.

Instead of an actual answer, the happy couple burst into laughter, in fact they were laughing so hard that Neville had to grab the door frame and Hannah had to waddle off to the bathroom. When she emerged, she once again burst into laughter upon seeing Ginny once again.

"What's so funny?" Harry asked Neville, watching as Ginny helped heave Hannah onto the couch and plop down next to her, making Hannah continue to laugh.

"Come on, Harry. Like you don't know." Neville responded, grinning at his wife.

"No, what? I don't get it."

"Look at Ginny! She looks like she's been done over by someone from the 50's! It's ridiculous!"

"I don't really think she looks too terrible…"

"She looks great, adorable actually, but she doesn't look like Ginny. If it weren't for her tattoos and piercings I would think your mum just made a new Ginny. She never looks like that, she's more likely to be wearing some jeans that have been ripped to shreds and a shirt from a band that she saw once and can't even remember what country it was in."

"So you've seen her?"

"Well, yeah, she came and visited quite a bit, before the wedding, helped plan it, and she stayed with us for a while after Sonny died. Didn't you know?"

"Oh, yeah, of course I did." Harry recovered, flustered at the idea of Ginny being so close and him having no idea. Sensing the lie, Neville decided to change the subject.

"Hagrid won't stop apologizing for missing this, promises he'll be at the wedding, but it seems that when whatever it is that just hatched hatches, it's rather dangerous to leave them alone…"

"Ginny," Hannah giggled, "could you please," giggle break, " wear that every time you come to visit?"

"I'm glad you're enjoying this, Hannah."

"Oh, come on, Ginny! It is a wee bit hilarious. You don't look like yourself _at all_. How could you do this for their wedding?"

"It shouldn't be that shocking, remember the big floppy hats we all wore for your wedding so you could get married outdoors?"

"Those hats were cute!"

"They were like rings around a planet they were so big! Mine kept flopping down and I almost missed the ceremony."

"At least it wasn't plaid."

"True."

"Aunt Ginny!" Victoire interrupted the pair, Teddy close behind. "Teddy said that if you hang upside down for too long, your brain will blow up. Is it true?"

"I'm not sure, you should go find out. No, wait! That's dangerous. Test your little sister first."

"Ginny! Dis iz _not _appropriate! You must treat my daughters ze same!" Fleur scolded, she had been close enough to hear the conversation.

"Oh, fine, fine. Vic, you and Teddy also hang upside down and see if your brains explode too, not just Nikki."

"_Ginny_!"

"Sorry, can't talk, gotta mingle."

Ginny would work her way through the party, saying a few words to people, and then bowing away, gracefully and quietly as she could, all the while keeping her eyes peeled for the bridal party so as to avoid any extra responsibility the day would include. But of course, she couldn't keep her eyes everywhere, so it wasn't long before she was trapped.

"Ginny!" a familiar chirp sounded from behind her, "I want you to meet my parents!" with a fake grin on her face, Ginny slowly turned around to face a whole damn family of blonds with blue eyes and perfect hair and bright pearly white teeth. It was a horrible sight.

"Hello, I'm Ginny. The MOH." Ginny grinned, extending a hand.

"I'm Hilary's mother, Helen, my husband, Hamilton, my mother in law, Henrietta, my son Hammie, and my nephew, Paul."

"Sooo many H's…" Ginny muttered.

"What was that dear?" Helen asked cordially, her smile almost faltering.

"Mother! Ginny knows Romanian! Isn't that fascinating! She said something the first night I met her, oh what was it…"

"My goodness, Ginny, you look like you've been snorting poxie dust!" Ginny could almost kiss Luna for that blessed interruption, as the H clan all stared with their bright eyes at Luna.

Having heard that yellow wasn't the color to wear to the shower, Luna appropriately wore lime green, and her husband had obliged and worn it also, although he didn't look nearly as pleased about the whole thing.

"Oh, Luna, there you are!" Ginny pushed past the blonds to get to her friend, "Sorry, can't stay and chat, got to tell her something very important," she apologized, linking arms with the slightly perplexed girl and leading her away.

"What's so important?" Luna asked, walking easily along.

"Nothing, Lu, did you not catch the discomfort? I was talking to a bunch of…I don't know what they were, but they frightened me."

"But what has that got to do with me?"

"Rolf, you want to explain this?"

"Ginny, you know I've been trying to corrupt her since we married, it's just not possible. She remains the sweetest witch I've ever met."

"She'll never win a cage fight at this rate!"

"I know, I'm beginning to think investing in that giant cage was a mistake…"

Ginny and the happy couple stayed and chatted, and then the Longbottoms joined, and for the first time since the whole shower started, Ginny found herself enjoying it. Sure, there were tons of people around, and most of them were watching, but it was nice to tell jokes from Hogwarts and then attempt to explain them to Rolf who kept trying to convince the group that the jokes weren't actually that funny, even though it just made the rest of them laugh harder.

"_Ahem_," a very annoyed little voice broke in, "hate to break up your little party, but the rest of the party is going on, and Ginny, you kinda need to do some work." Ginny's face contorted with discomfort as she heard the nails on the chalkboard that is Grace the not-MOH.

"Don't worry Gin, if I go into labor I'll try and be by her and ruin her shoes," Hannah whispered as Ginny walked towards the creature that is a bridesmaid.

"So the games were a huge success, I won the clothes pin game." Grace bragged, the girls had played a game where if someone said 'marriage' the players all tried to grab a clothespin and clip it to their clothes.

"I realized when you yelled 'I won! I won!'" Grace ignored the redhead and waved the bride over, so as to go get the boys from the back yard, where most of them had gone for salvation.

Without looking back, Grace stalked through the door, closing the door a bit more roughly than she needed, obviously hoping to smack Ginny with it, but unbeknownst to Grace, Ginny deftly dodged it, but Grace, not looking the forward until the last moment, when the door and her nose collided with a earth shattering CRACK.

Instantly, all of Hilary's family was around her, trying to lift her off the ground as her now broken nose was a blood geyser. The whole party stopped and just stared at the scene, and most of the eyes went to the redhead.

"Ginny," Harry breathed through a clenched jaw, "_how could you?!"_

"How could I what?!" she exclaimed, wondering why he was turning red at her. "I didn't slam the door! Grace did!"

"You dodged it!"

"I stepped through it!"

"Well--you--you planned all of this! Why the hell did you plan such a dangerous shower?!"

"Right, because when I think danger, I think _doors_!"

"This whole thing was totally irresponsible!"

"Irresponsible?! _Irresponsible_?! Out of everything I've done, _this _is irresponsible?! I don't know, but maybe, just maybe, irresponsible behavior might be something like _not going to your bleeding fiancée!" _

The pair stared each other down, both red in the face and panting with anger. At any moment, one of their clenched fists could fly at the other, and the entire party just watched, wondering what would happen next, though more than half of them were positive that Ginny would just leave and never come back.

_Don't do anything to get arrested, don't do anything to get arrested…y'know, throwing that bottle could really take Harry out--no! Bad! _Ginny's mind was racing.

_Need to leave, need to escape! Run! Flee! Escape! Go! What's another seven years? Oh, gods, people are talking at me…_

"What?" Ginny asked, trying to put her rage in its place.

"I said don't do it!" Neville bossed, people all around were now moving about, back in action, getting food and ignoring that problem as Mrs. Weasley fixed the bride to be while Harry held her hand, and Mr. Weasley tried to distract her family.

"Do what?" Ginny challenged.

"Do what you always do when you're upset! Run! Or sleep on my couch! Don't you do it!" Neville scolded as if he was talking to one of his Herbology students back at Hogwarts.

"But--but I need to get out of here! I need to get away from these people! Even if it's just for a bit, I need to get away! I just--I can't! Give me a reason to come back!" Ginny cried out, hands up in desperation. "Go! But take this!" George cried out, thrusting something into her arms.

She hugged it to her chest and apparated away, not looking back or even realizing what was in her arms until it was too late.

Safely in a pub, away from where people were blaming her for other people breaking the bride, away from where her ex was blaming her for crimes against humanity, she was in dark place where the comfort of smoke and alcohol were all around. That was when Ginny looked at what her brother had given her, and it smiled back at her.

"Oh, George," Ginny thought out loud, "Angelina is going to kill you."

"GEORGE WEASLEY, YOU SHALL PAY FOR THIS WITH YOUR LIFE!" Ron was having a bit of trouble holding the former quidditch captain back as she lunged and swung at her cowering husband.

"I trust her! I trust her! I trust her!" George kept crying from the fetal position, his arms flailing around his head for protection.

"You gave her my _baby_!"

"We can have more!! I promise!"

"Like I'll ever touch _you _again!"

"Fine! You can have more! I'll just help raise them! Ron! Wanna knock up my wife?!"

"Ron has a wife of his own, you know!"

"Fine! Hermione! Do _you _want to knock up my wife?!"

"No one will be knocking me up because I _will _be getting my baby back!"

"Oh, Freddie," Ginny cooed at her little nephew, sitting up at the bar while the bartender tickled his chin, "I could keep you forever. Feel like changing your name and running away with me?"


	14. What Wonderful Wallpaper

Greetings! Seeing as I left the last chapter slightly cliffy with George's oh-so impulsive behavior, I'm updating now. A big thanks for all the reviews! And if my updates for this story take too long, (which they tend to) I just put up a drabble not too long ago to keep you entertained (momentarily).

Onwards! To the story!

* * *

_He looks so little, yet weighs so much. _Ginny thought as she had Freddie asleep against her shoulder. Back at the Burrow, three hours after the shower was supposed to end, she thought she was sure to be safe. Quietly as she could, she stepped back into the chaos.

"Thank _Merlin_!" Angelina gasped, taking the sleeping child from his aunts arms. "I knew you were coming back, of course, Ginny, but can you blame me? When your baby leaves without any warning it just--why does he smell like smoke?"

"Ange, the important thing is he's back, remember the whole focus on the positive thing we're all working on?"

"Yeah, this fight really isn't worth it, I'll go alert my husband he shall live to see the morning."

"I wish someone would do that for me…Oh, let's be honest, I'd just take that reassurance as a challenge. So how'd the party go?"

"You mean after the bride was broken and the MOH had a panic attack and took a baby?" Harry snorted, he was standing off to the side, arm around a rather content looking Hilary.

"Y'know, I really like this wallpaper. It is _amazing_." Hilary pointed out, staring at the wall.

"We gave her a calming draught, she was in quite panicked." Harry explained, blushing a bit.

"Gotcha, I'm pretty sure I've been on the same draught. Pretty soon she'll think it's a good idea to put ice cream on tacos." Ginny nodded.

"That sounds…awful." Harry sneered, grimacing at the thought.

"Well, it can't all be treacle tart, Potter." Ginny pointed out, leaving to find her parents in the kitchen having tea. Harry watched her, slightly amazed she'd even remember that.

Ginny swung the top of her body into the kitchen, making her mother jump.

"I'm home!"

"We see!" her father mused, as her mother clutched her heart.

"What's with Mum? Did she not think I was coming back?"

"No, she's a bit nervous, since you've been gone about twelve owls have swooped in." Arthur told her.

"Er, that's not good."

"Why?!" Molly gasped, her heart still pounding.

"It's from work…"

"I thought you were the boss?"

"Yeah, I am, but for some reason they still want me to work. And I'd fire them all but then I'd have to do _more _work, or I'd fire _myself_, but then I wouldn't get money, so I'm stuck surrounding myself with competent workers who expect me to work. It's awful, really." Ginny sighed.

"Oh, come on, you draw pictures for a living, it's not exactly work." Molly chided, her nerves better. Under normal circumstances owls were fine, but when they come all at once after your daughter is once again missing, this time with your grandchild, and the owls swoop in from the window you have your back to, it's enough to make anyone nervous.

Ginny turned to head upstairs, but stopped when she saw Harry helping his loopy fiancée up, taking this as a moment of opportunity, had brought her to apologize for all the other times it seemed to trick into making bad decisions.

"Hey, Hil," Ginny started, Harry looked up, one eye brow raised, while Hilary gave a sloppy grin, "work is really cracking down on me this week, so think you and your mum can make a few plans, Hermione can help with the rehearsal dinner, while I take care of the bachelorette party?" Ginny asked, smirking at Harry who looked outraged that she was taking such advantage.

"Sure! We should go wallpaper shopping, you and me, we can get this stuff! It is _amazing_!" she pointed to the wall with such force that Harry had to catch her before she hit the wall.

"Right," Ginny nodded, chuckling at the flustered look on Harry's face while she went to her room.

Those good feelings fluttered away when 24 wide eyes stared at her, all of which had paper work and sketches attached to their legs. Lei did not look amused at the intruders and was eyeing a smaller owl with hunger in his eyes. Julio was wisely cowering under the bed.

Once Ginny had removed all the deliveries, and had been nipped quite a few times, no doubt by angry CEOs who wanted to know what was taking so damn long, and Ginny had a sinking suspicion that 'sorry, gotta plan my ex's wedding' was not going to be good enough. Even if she was dealing with Italians, the most romantic Europeans you can find, stereotypically speaking.

And she went to work. And worked, and worked, and worked. And during her breaks, she worked. She worked, completely uninterrupted for three days straight till her mother finally practically broke her door down with knocking.

"Take this one, and this one." her mother ordered, looking rather frazzled as she handed little Molly to Ginny and pushed Teddy through the doorway. "Now, I am going to go get Freddie off the walls he is climbing since eating an _entire _bowl of sugar, get Marty unstuck from the couch cushions he climbed into, and tell Victoire and Dominique if they do not share those bloody crayons, I am going to break each one in _half _and they can share _that _way."

"What happened to the mum who raised seven kids and was doing just fine?" Ginny asked as Teddy started looking through all her things.

"She is old now, and has a daughter who will be helping her." Molly growled, and Ginny just quietly closed the door, not willing to ask anymore questions.

It wasn't that she minded helping, she was practically done with all the work now, but Molly had given her a strange pair. Teddy wasn't really interested in the young toddler, who could thankfully amuse herself, so just giving them something and saying 'here, play together,' wasn't exactly an option.

"What brings you here today, Teddy?" Ginny asked, placing the young girl, in her lovely little tutu, on the floor.

"Granmum had a doctors appointment, doesn't trust me in the waiting room after the last time. I might have gotten really bored and made a few magazine fly about…" Ginny just nodded, knowingly. For whatever reason, as a child Ginny had not been trusted, which resulted in her often being dragged along to things like that, which at one doctors appointed resulted in a talking house plant to keep her company. Who, weeks later, led to one nurse quitting in outrage when the same plant yelled at her for not watering him.

"Kin!" Little Molly grinned. Teddy looked at her, a bit shocked, as he had never heard the bashful child speak.

"There's quite a bit of mayhem downstairs isn't there?" Ginny asked, thinking to herself. Teddy merely nodded, now using his shoe string to play with the every hyper Julio. "So no one would really notice if we…left?" Ginny asked, grinning to herself.

"Ginny, I didn't think you were allowed to leave." Teddy pointed out, his tone serious.

"No, I'm not supposed to go out without a chaperone. And you two will be with me, so you'd be my chaperones. What could go wrong?"

As it turned out, more things could go wrong than one would ever expect. After deciding that Ginny needed to get out of the house, she had Teddy quietly prepare Molly's buggy as she got her bag, and the three of them quietly left, just to go to a nice little park.

But the park, alas, was crowded, so they went and got ice cream. And once that was done, Teddy was just dying to go to a toy shop, so they popped into one, that just so happened to have new fireworks toys. And they were very, very new, so new that they hadn't passed all their Ministry mandated tests, so legally, they weren't supposed to be on sale, much less on display, so really, the whole thing was the toy shops fault, not theirs.

Unfortunately, Percy didn't seem to agree as he went to get his brothers best friends godson, his little sister, and his eighteen month old daughter from the Aurors custody, but first, he felt it was only necessary to say hello to a few friends. One, in particular.

"Harry, old boy!" Percy called out, "Come and see your godson, today is a milestone, he was arrested! Along with my sister and my _daughter_!"

A very confused Harry reached the small group, his face full of shock.

"Are you okay? What happened?" he asked Teddy, dropping down to look him in the eye. Teddy just grinned.

"We burned the toy store down! It was awesome!" Teddy answered, practically bursting with joy at it all.

"Boom!" Little Molly added, her tutu slightly singed.

"You burned down a toy store?" Harry asked, dumbstruck.

"A very dangerous toy store, that was selling illegal toys! So you're welcome." Ginny defended, still flushed from the fire.

"You took my godson to a dangerous toy store?!" Harry demanded, rising to face Ginny now.

"Yeah, it was so bad, it even had a _door_!"

"Harry, she couldn't have known it was dangerous…" Percy interjected, not wanting a full blown fight to occur.

"She should have!" Harry said.

"You didn't!" Ginny responded, "And you're a bloody Auror! So, shame on you! You nearly got us all killed!"

Harry gaped at her, unsure of what to say at this point.

"And, Molly, Teddy, what are we going to tell Granmum if she asks where we were?"

"Doing charity work for puppies!" Teddy responded.

"Dog!" Molly added.

"Really, Gin? That's your cover story?" Percy asked, his eyebrows rising.

"Well, look who I'm working with. Teddy's original idea was to tell her we were fighting aliens, and Molly wanted to tell her 'spoon.'"

Not much later, Ginny, Teddy and Molly were quietly sneaking back in to the Burrow, which had returned to a normal level of chaos, unlike before, where Molly was absolutely glued to the radio.

"Oh, thank goodness your back!" Molly breathed, "Have you heard? A toy shop in Diagon Alley went up in flames! The news said mad woman and her children started it and ran! Isn't that awful?"

"Terrible." Ginny deadpanned, shaking her head slowly for dramatic effect.

"Where were you exactly?" Molly questioned, an eyebrow rising.

"We just went on a walk, wanted to stretch our legs." Ginny answered, her tone nonchalant.

"Did you?" the elder witch questioned, her eyes sliding onto Teddy, ready to catch a lie.

"Boom!" little Molly clapped. Mrs. Weasley looked at them with growing skepticism.

"I fell, tripped onto the grass." Teddy quickly lied. "Take after my mum like that, don't I?" he added with a small grin.

"I didn't know your grandmother was telling you stories about her." Molly stated, suddenly distracted.

"She's not," Teddy responded, sadly, "I tried to make her, but she wouldn't say anything."

"Harry then?"

"No, he still won't say much. Ginny's been telling me!" Teddy grinned the last part, "It's been great! Did you know my dad was a teacher?"

"Yes, yes I did. Why don't you go wash up for snacks, love?" Molly watched her daughter remove the little girl from her buggy, her look strained.

"Problem?" Ginny asked, feeling her mother's eyes bore into her.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to tell him things like that." Molly stated, now wringing her hands with discomfort. She was a firm believer in the idea of idle hands being the devils play thing.

"Like what? More about his parents?"

"Isn't that something that his grandmother, or Harry should tell him? I mean, if you want him to like you--"

"Mum!"

"No, no, it's nothing to be ashamed of, Teddy's a good way to get back into certain peoples lives--"

"Mum! Please! It's not like that, he's a kid, not a pawn! I told him because no one else would. That's all."

"Is it?"

"Yes!"

"Is it really?"

"Yes! I understand his frustration of being left out, he might be young, be he shouldn't be punished just because no one wants to tell him about things they don't want to talk about. I'm telling him things that should be common knowledge, not some scandalous family secret, exactly."

"Ginny, I'm just not sure if it's a good idea…"

"Good ideas have never been my thing, I find that it works just as well to go with any idea, rather than just the good ones."

"Just as long as you don't hurt the poor boy." Molly sighed. "And Ginny?"

"Yes?"

"One last thing, even though I cant prove it, I'm pretty positive you were the cause of that toy shop burning, so no more leaving the Burrow for a while."

"Er, right."

That evening, little Molly was the only child left waiting to have a parent come, both her parents were trapped in a meeting, so Ginny was watching her in the living room, Julio chasing her tutu as the little girl danced and laughed. It was one of those sights that Christmas cards are made of, and Ginny couldn't resist, she went and grabbed her old camera, snapping away at the spectacle.

She hadn't used the camera since returning home, and it was nice to have a reason to use it again, it did carry quite a bit of sentimental value. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice someone floo in until little Molly alerted her.

"Mummy!"

"Hello, love." Aubrey cooed, scooping the girl up.

"Oh! Hi!" Ginny grinned, pretty sure the woman still didn't like her.

"Hello, Ginny. Molly, dear, go get your bag…" Aubrey stood up after setting her daughter down, facing her sister in law with discomfort on her face. "Percy owl'd." she started, her voice serious, "And from the sound of it, it wasn't your fault, and you kept our daughter from blowing up, so thank you."

"Um, you're welcome?"

"I know I might not be the warmest person, but I'm very impressed you don't take that out on my daughter."

"Does that mean you secretly like me?"

"No."

"Oh."

"But my daughter does, and that's what's important. Ready, Molly? Okay, let's go love, say bye-bye!"

The little girl ran over, her two little pigtails bouncing as she did, and waved with enthusiasm as she stepped into the fireplace to floo away.

"Hunh," Ginny started, turning to Julio, "my sister in law does not like me. At all, from the sounds of it. Maybe this family is slightly more normal than I thought. Then again, I'm talking to my cat, as in actual discussion, which isn't. Well, win some lose some."


	15. Designated

Hooray! Another chapter! And hooray! An insane amount of reviews! And hooray! Over 7600 hits! Exciting times, for me, kids. Exciting times. I'm considering writing a sequel for this story, but haven't decided. So, what do ya think?

Happy reading, lovelies.

* * *

_Just tell not to worry, you definitely know how to party!_ Ginny's mouth opened to interrupt her mother's tirade, _Better yet, don't. _Ginny clamped her mouth shut.

"Don't you realize that the bachelorette party is _tomorrow_?" her mother demanded for the fifth time since the monologue trying to call it's self a conversation began.

"I do! It's all ready!" Ginny insisted, "I finished everything ages ago!"

"You haven't even left the house besides running errands since the toy store incident!" her mother pointed out, a little frazzled at the idea.

"Have you not noticed that Lei hasn't been around for quite some time? He's been finishing the plans. Not planning things, mind you, he's an owl, but jetting off delivering the plans for me. That makes sense, doesn't it?"

"What are you going to be doing exactly?" Molly asked, an eyebrow rising.

Ginny just smiled, feeling positively giddy with anticipation for the next night "It's a surprise."

"As long as you're the designated witch, it should be fine." Molly stated, this wasn't a simple after thought of a statement, this was a warning.

Ginny nodded, frowning slightly.

"Now, come and help, everyone's due here soon, and the roast is still cooking, set the table"

_Oh, Friday, you are a tricky night._ Ginny thought to herself, flicking her wand to put everything in it's place. Why her mother didn't just do that, she'd never know.

Last week had been quiet and uneventful, but that was only because the dinner had been cancelled to dedicate more time towards the shower. Now, even though the bachelor and bachelorette parties were the next night, Mrs. Weasley wasn't giving up her dinner.

"Don't be too worried, love," Mr. Weasley came in the living room, which was now the dining room for the dinner, giving his daughter a quick peck on the temple "you at least know what to expect this time 'round."

"But I don't know what to do after the whole shower incident." Ginny grumbled.

"And the toy store incident."

"No one can say it's my fault! There's no proof!"

"Ginny, be honest, George was at work, and you weren't accounted for, that means everyone knows it's your fault somehow."

As the dinner began, this time Ginny at the big peoples table, conversation remained light and casual, which was much easier to control since Harry and Hilary had managed to sit at the opposite end of the table.

"So, Gin," Jana started up, "what should all us girls expect to wear for this little party tomorrow?" instantly all ears perked up, there was quite a bit of anticipation leading up to the gathering, especially since every Weasley woman, minus the eldest who decided she'd rather not see her daughter in laws involved in any behavior that would make her worry for her sons, was planning on attending. There wasn't a babysitter in the area who wouldn't be working the next night.

"Wear exactly what'd you want to be seen in if were the last night you could be single." Ginny said, with a wicked grin.

The Weasley men all shifted uncomfortably at this idea, while their wives all seemed quite pleased at the idea.

"Really, Hermione? You're looking forward to this?" Ron asked his usually studious bride, eyebrow raised.

"Of course I am, Ron! I always have plenty of fun when I'm off with the girls."

"The girls? You mean Harry?"

"I have other friends!"

"Like who?"

"Angelina and I went out last week."

"Doesn't count if Freddie was also present."

"Fine, Lavender and I went out not too long ago."

"…Lavender? My ex girlfriend Lavender?"

"It was back at school! That doesn't count!"

"Doesn't count? Does that mean it'd be okay if Aubrey and Penelope Clearwater met up? Or Dad and that bloke Mum ran around with before they got serious?"

"What?"

"Nothing, Arthur, shut it, Ronald!"

"Or if Hilary ran off with Gin--" Ron cut his little tirade short, and all eyes slid over to Hilary and Harry. He was practically under the table with embarrassment, she on the other hand looked up with eyes clear.

"I actually consider Ginny to be a very good friend." Now all the eyes shifted over to the opposite end of the table where Ginny looked thoroughly bored, leaning back in her chair, her face looking to the ceiling, blowing her napkin up into the air.

"Are we boring you, Gin?" Harry, now annoyed, asked in a drawl very similar to that of his school years rival.

"Nope, heard every word. Decided I'd rather play with my napkin then deal with it." Ginny answered, her voice slightly muffled by the napkin that danced as she spoke on top of her face. A very long pause followed, until George, who never was good with silence, decided to break it.

"Ginny, have you always been this mad, or did we all forget?"

"I'm pretty sure the answer is always, I was just always outshined. You and Fred were always the center of attention, unless there was an adventure, then it went to the Golden Trio. All the while I was off in my own world, being madder than Luna. Who, when you get to know her, isn't mad at all, just eccentric. So that example has fallen flat on its face, now hasn't it?"

"I distinctly remember Ginny being a biter as a child." Bill broke in.

"That was only while teething." their father defended.

"And it's not like you can say I'm the worst biter you've ever faced, can you?" Ginny added, now looking forward, her napkin abandoned.

"You know what I remember about baby Ginny?" George asked, his eyes narrow, "Is that she _stole_. Took my favorite stuffed dragon and tossed it into the fire one day! Without any reason!"

"Actually," Percy interrupted, smiling slightly to himself, "that was me, I just blamed the baby."

Ginny and George shared identical expressions of shock.

"You blamed me?! When I was tiny and innocent! Probably the last time I was innocent, too!"

"YOU MONSTER! I don't know if I can ever call you a brother, again!"

And the conversation remained like that, focusing on memories that had not been brought up for almost seven years, for once, talking like a genuine family. Unfortunately, it was a family that was louder than most, and several old fight erupted. It wasn't until Mrs. Weasley threatened groundings that Ron and Ginny stopped fighting over who broke the lamp the rainy day they were left alone before Hogwarts, and Charlie and Bill had to have an arm wrestling match to settle a fight that had started back before either one of them had started school revolving around the freckle faced girl who came to visit her Gran down the street.

It was a quintessential family night, and Ginny was almost sorry to see everyone leave. But of course, all that meant was the party the next night would be…interesting.

Ginny grinned to herself wickedly as she looked at her most prized part of her wardrobe. Well, two if you're exceptionally literal. Tonight was the night, the night that would either make or break the whole wedding party. Tonight was the night Ginny was taking a pack of uptight witches with her to party like she used to. Only this time, she'd be swapping places with them.

With a feeling of satisfaction, Ginny grabbed the last delivery from Lei and headed down to the living room where everyone was waiting.

"Ginny, _what _are you wearing?" Hermione asked, looking a bit disturbed.

"What? I look like I'm ready to go out! _You _however…" Hermione frowned at the girl, and looked at her own outfit. She had a pink top with matching cardigan over it, a black skirt to her knees. She thought she looked quite nice. Ginny however, well she looked…

"Ginny, you're wearing hooker boots." Hermione said bluntly, and Ginny just grinned, enjoying the fact that she was actually tall in them.

"Ginny's right, Hermione," Angelina insisted, pulling the cardigan off, "you need to look like you're going out. Merlin's right butt cheek, Hermione! Where'd you get _those_?!"

Blushing furiously, Hermione pulled up her top a bit more, mortified. Her secret was out, Hermione Granger Weasley had boobs. Big ones.

"Are you pregnant?!" Ginny demanded, poking at the woman's right boob. She flinched when Hermione slapped her hand away.

"No!" Hermione insisted, looking miserable, "It runs in the family, every woman on my dad's side is about this side, _pre_-children…" A sudden anger pain hit Ginny as she realized her family did not have that gene and it was being wasted on Hermione.

Without warning, Hermione's skirt shrank about four inches upward, and they were all shocked to see a grinning Hilary with her wand out.

"Hermione, I insist that you look good for this evening, not like you're coming from a meet the teacher night." the bride to be grinned, Ginny gave the girl a broad grin. Maybe she wasn't that bad after all.

"Shouldn't we be going?" Grace asked over everyone's excited chapter. Everyone was there, all the bridesmaids, the bride, the sister in laws to be, a few friends from work, and Luna. She'd been invited per Ginny's request.

"Right, where are we going, Gin?" Hilary asked, still giggling slightly.

"We are going to a place where no one's going to recognize any of you, so all of you can relax and have a grand ol' time. We're going to Italy. And I'm going to make sure all of you get drunk. Well, not you Fleur, I don't want you to give me a deformed niece or nephew, but the rest of you! Drunk, drunk, drunk!"

All around her, she was getting uncomfortable looks, minus Luna who remained serene, of married women who had forgotten how to party. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Everyone! Take one! It's a portkey, hold on, as we'll all be leaving as soon as I say!" Ginny commanded, passing around VIP passes into the most exclusive club in the wizarding world, located in Rome, where Ginny had spent quite a bit of time in her life. So much that she'd had no problems getting the owners to agree to let her have a party there. The group gave Ginny a nervous look, but didn't protest the tug they felt from the portkey.

The club was just like Ginny had remembered it, crowded, hot and loud, with flashing lights and huge bar. The perfect place to go when you didn't know who you were or how exactly you had ended up the assistant to a prominent fashion wizard.

The witches she had arrived with looked around, confused and slightly terrified. It had been years since some of them had gone out like this. Luna, however, was rocking back and forth to the music, looking completely at ease. Without hesitation, Ginny pulled Hilary over to the bar, leaving her at the mercy of her favorite bartender, a large wizard with dark hair and eyes that could make you swoon and had a knack for making up new drinks. It took less than an hour after dumping the bride on the bartender for everyone to loosen up, drinks in hand.

Luna was dancing with the girls from Hilary's work, who were drunk enough already to think it was perfectly normal for Luna to dance the way she was, and Hermione seemed to have forgotten her immodesty embarrassment.

Fleur, unable to drink, had taken refuge chatting up some French men who were there on vacation, her veela charms not overpowered by her pregnancy.

Aubrey had gone to talk to bartenders, her father had owned a bar and she found them absolutely fascinating. She settled in front of Ginny's favorite's station, and he smiled at her, looking slightly sly.

"Don't be like that!" the witch warned, "I'm married to a very tough bloke! And I've got a kid, can you believe it? Amazing how things change."

"Yes," the bartender answered, his accent not as bad as she had anticipated. "I never expected to see Miss Ginny happy. Last time she here, very, very bad. Friend had just died, she looked terrible. I tell her, you go! You go get another picture on you, this time for Mr. Mossimo! And she did. Then I tell her, you go! You go off and you keep living like he told you to! And she did. They were very close, she and Mr. Mossimo."

"Her boss? She was all up in arms about her boss?"

"More than boss, first friend here, taught her Italian, first to tell her she is beautiful and not try to seduce her, very good man. Very sad he is gone, she lost her first true friend. A little old man. She stopped being so happy after he died, went away, we all very happy she returned and brought such lovely friends! Even if for one night."

The pair looked over at where Ginny had run off to, despite being sober, she and Angelina along with Jana were over by the dj, dancing their hearts out and yelling requests for more songs as they fell over each other.

"Ah, poor Miss Ginny," the friendly bartender sighed, "she used to cry so much, so sad, so very, very sad. It is good to see her happy." Aubrey just kept watching her, suddenly feeling sympathy for the girl. She still didn't particularly like her, and thought she was a total dolt, but even dolts don't deserve to be depressed. At least not that depressed.

As the night went on, all those allowed alcohol discovered a drink that was made to be the exact color of Ginny's hair, designed while she still lived in Italy. It was a very fruity drink, quite girly, but got you drunk faster than you could realize. It was a very dangerous drink for the casual drinker. And none of the other girls there were alcoholics…

Ginny knew something terrible would happen when Hilary grabbed her to go to the bathroom. She had learned from experience that drunk girls in bathrooms almost always led to bad things. She was already having a hard time, trying to live vicariously through the party goers, and not drink right along with them. Of course, she had instructed every employee in the place to deprive her of alcohol, but half of them would forget that and the rest would just not care. She was ready to go home right then, but everyone else was having so much fun…

"Ginny, I have a secret!" Hilary whispered as she washed her hands, sloshing water on her white top. "And I think you're the only person who can understand, so I need you to listen and I need you to be nice to me!" Hilary hiccupped. Ginny was ready for the sweet release of death.

"Er, alright."

"Ginny! You know when you're making love with Harry?" the fiancée asked, completely unabashed.

"I know what it was like, we haven't really done anything in a long time…"

"You know how he's gentle? I mean, _super _gentle?" Ginny's mind instantly went to the times she was roughly held up against a wall by Harry, and the times when they couldn't wait and snuck into broom closets, or the one time in Ron's bed…

"Oh, uh, yeah. Totally."

"Isn't a bit dull? I mean, it's sweet, but I would rather be thrown up against a wall! Wouldn't you?"

"Uh--"

"I'm going to tell you another secret." the very intoxicated witch declared. "Are you ready?"

"I--no--I--"

"I have been with someone besides Harry! Do you know who it was_? Michael bleeding Corner! _Can you believe that? I hope you can, it's true, and he, he made love with passion! That's what Harry needs, just a bit more passion…"

Hilary let out a very dramatic, very drunk sigh. Under normal circumstances, she would undoubtedly be beet red and ready to crawl into a hole and die, but with alcohol, all things were possible.

"Ginny, I am going to tell you the biggest secret ever…it's bigger than this room." Hilary paused to hiccup. "I love him."

Ginny gulped, not wanting to deal with this, "Of course, you love him! Why else would you marry him?"

"No--no, not Harry. I mean I love Harry, but I also love him…I love Michael Corner…Promise not to tell!"

"I--"

Ginny ended up not having to answer, as she was promptly cut off as Hilary started vomiting into the sink. That was the moment Ginny decided to call it a night.


	16. Rehearsing a Dinner

Woohoo! Most reviews yet on a chapter last time around. Very exciting stuff, kids. A big thanks for that, and a big thanks for reading. This chapter is the next to last (sad) but all of you have been fabulous (happy)!

Enjoy, my friends.

* * *

_Well, this was an abysmal failure. _Ginny thought to herself after the last party goer had been taken home. They had all had a great time, even though Bill was slightly jealous of the Frenchman, but Ron was thrilled, drunk Hermione is far more friendly than the usual Hermione. That made Ginny cringe a bit.

And then there was the look Harry gave her, the surprise at the boots then, the look of…well, no look, he just rolled his eyes.

_A good person would tell Harry what Hilary said, _her mind pointed out,_ but a good person would be believed, which won't happen for me, and I'm slightly fed up with the way I've been looked at by him, I'll tell him later. No point in trying to out do the horrors of the night so far._

"Well?" Ginny's mum had started, hands on hips, snapping Ginny back into reality. "How much?"

"How much what?" Ginny asked back, slightly confused.

"How much did you drink?"

"I didn't."

"Ginny, don't lie, how much did you drink?"

"None! Didn't have a single drop! It was a miserable night."

"Really, Ginny, there are ways to have fun without alcohol!" her mother scolded, but let Ginny slip away.

_Yeah, keepin' my mouth shut._

After that little fiasco, Ginny found it was best to stay away from as many people as possible. She made the plans she had to, talked to those she had to, but mostly, talked to her cat, or her owl, who wanted to eat her cat, so never at the same time.

It was all very dull, as one would expect, and by the end of the week Ginny was actually looking forward to the rehearsal dinner, something she really couldn't believe. It was all set up at some overpriced French restaurant, the kind of place a girl is taken on a bad date. The room for the rehearsal dinner was lovely, roses enchanted to be blue on every table, and the food wasn't too bad, for overpriced French food. It was one of those cliché rehearsal dinners that are inevitable in a wedding such as this.

Hilary's mother gave some long drawn out speech about how they all always knew that their little girl was destined for greatness, making Ginny roll her eyes since she knew the girl was nothing more than a glorified secretary.

Mrs. Weasley, of course, gave a heartfelt speech on how she was honored to have had the chance to take him in as a son, a tear jerker of a speech.

"Isn't it so nice they decided to make this so family oriented?" Hermione sighed after the speeches were given. Ginny nudged Grace awake for a response, despite the girl being the biggest pain in the arse she'd ever had to deal with, Ginny had the same feeling at the moment.

Weddings were bad enough, but weddings that had people continuously giving speeches? Ridiculous. She was just glad she didn't have to cough up her lovey dovey crap till the reception the next day. So far, Julio'd been the only one to hear it, and he hadn't given too bad of a response.

Hilary stood, cleared her throat, and to Ginny's horror, began speaking.

"I'd like to propose a toast," the blushing bride to be started, smiling as her eyes shown brightly, "to my maid of honor, Ginny."

_I guess she was too drunk to remember what she told me..._

"Without her, I just don't know how everything would have come together. She really saved us in our time of need, and has been working so hard not only on the wedding, but on her little alcohol problem. To Ginny!"

"To Ginny." the group responded, all raising their wine glasses in her honor. Ginny raised her glass back, this one with grape juice, still no pineapple, and sipped it, trying to smile graciously when she was really just very bitter that they were all willing to show her alcohol and not let her have any.

_I can't believe she just said that. 'My little alcohol problem,' what bull. It's a bloody disease! A disease that people get mad at you over…_

"Sorry, just need to powder my nose." Ginny excused herself from the group by whispering to Hilary, who was still glowing at her little speech and the wonderful thing she had done. Evidently, the blushing bride had forgotten what she confessed before.

Once safely in the restroom, hidden away, Ginny tried to decide what to do. Splashing cold water on her face didn't make her any less miserable, didn't actually have any powder for her nose, and she would have settled for any kind, but the idea of apparating away was quite pleasant. Or, she could just go old fashioned and climb out the window, they were quite small, but she could squeeze…

She stepped up onto the commode, jimmy'd the window open and her head through when the door to the restroom opened.

"Ar--are you the maid of honor?" a very disturbed looking waitress asked.

"Actually," Ginny started, pulling her head back into the building, "I'm the queen of England. Sometimes I look to put on elaborate disguises and run about the country, mind giving me a boost? My carriage is waiting just around the corner."

"I--I was sent here to tell you that your party is leaving…I mean, the bridal party, I don't know about any carriages."

"Right, right. Well, thank you, you've done very well, made your queen proud." Ginny stated with a small nod as she went off to meet her family.

Back at the Burrow, all of the children and Teddy, who was staying with Harry to 'help him' get ready for the wedding were all asleep. Luna and Rolf had offered to stay for the evening and watch them, which had led to Ginny telling them over and over again it was a sign that they secretly really did want children right then.

"So, where did you escape to for so long?" Hermione questioned Ginny once they were all in the living room, all ears on them.

"Oh, you know, trying to climb out the window, convincing a waitress that I was the queen of England, nothing too exciting."

A very audible disgruntled breath escaped from Harry, and Ginny slid her eyes over to him, her eyebrow raised.

"Problem?" she asked, her tone cool. The children were all being fetched and brought in to leave, most were still half asleep.

"Yes, you could call it that."

"Well?"

"It's just slightly frustrating listening to all your lies."

"Harry, I am a chain smoking, alcoholic, who abandons any problem she has, but despite that, I am still _not _a liar!"

"Love to believe you, Gin, really, but a few tattoos doesn't prove a thing."

The entire house was still as Ginny gave Harry a look that wasn't quite clear. To Harry he thought she looked shocked that he caught her, to Hermione she looked dangerous, to Ron she looked like the chicken had bothered her, and to Luna, she looked like she did when they had both been in Scotland and some drunk guy offered her money for a quick shag.

But in reality, Ginny Weasley looked outraged. Dangerously outraged. Wordlessly, she slipped out of the room, up the stairs to her bedroom. Everyone downstairs just waited.

"Er, Luna, maybe we should go," Rolf suggested quietly, obviously uncomfortable.

"Don't be silly, Ginny's about to rip Harry a new one." Luna answered, not bothering to keep her voice down.

With surprising grace, Ginny Weasley made her way back down, a large box in her arms, dominating her upper body.

"All right, _Harry bleeding Potter,_ you want your proof, here's your damn proof!" she seethed, dropping the box to the floor with a large thud.

"What is it?" Harry asked, not bothering to look for himself.

"Pictures, keepsakes, memories from what you call my lies." Ginny answered. By this time Hermione had dropped to her knees to see what was in there, while everyone else was too anxious to move. At the very top of the box was a large camera that Hermione pulled out, looking at it with wide eyes.

"Ginny, is this--"

"Yeah, yeah it is." Ginny cut Hermione off without so much as a glance. "It's his camera."

It took Harry a moment of staring to realize who he was exactly. There it was, same condition from all those years ago when it was blinding him in the hallways.

"Dennis gave it to me, said since I was Colin's best friend I should have his camera. So I've just been running around the world, using his camera because he can't because he died in some _stupid _war he wasn't even supposed to take part in, while I made it out and have had to carry on with out him, and it's hard!" by now Ginny was letting tears escape that had been kept at bay for a very long time, "I don't like being without my people! But the way you look at me! The way you don't believe! I don't think I can take it!" unable to tolerate her own tears, Ginny busted through the back doors, away from the family she left standing there bewildered.

Hermione continued to pull out photos, and for the first time they all actually saw what she'd been talking about.

There was a worn photo of her and a tattoo covered man, it was very still, a muggle photo, and caught the two of them grinning at each other, a shine on Ginny's finger. Harry stared at the man for a very long time.

A portrait of Ginny standing behind a young teen as he sat in a very regal chair, a look of coldness on his face, while Ginny smirked slightly, as if she knew something he didn't was there, also still.

A picture of Ginny in an undisclosed hospital room, giving a thumbs up and laughing, obviously on some serious pain medication, was in there, this time moving as she tried to keep an eye out for something, probably muggle staff.

There was a picture of her and a very old wizard trying on different shoes, laughing hysterically at jokes they could not hear was there, Ginny giving a look of a very excited granddaughter thrilled to be the favorite.

They all looked at these pictures and so many more, completely captured by the proof Harry had demanded for a few minutes before Teddy broke the silence.

"She left," his small voice came through, snapping the adults back to reality, "she left and she won't come back," tears began spilling over.

"Teddy," Harry stated, stepping forward to comfort his grandson. Teddy quickly stepped back, out of reach.

"No! You--you made her leave! You made her go! She went and she won't come back and no one will tell me about my parents again! You called her a liar, but she wasn't! All she did was tell the truth!"

"She won't come back?" Victoire asked, her small voice weak in a way that broke her fathers heart and shattered her grandfathers.

"Kin?" little Molly questioned, looking up from Percy's arms.

"Why would she do that?" Dominique asked, and her mother felt a pang of guilt.

Marty had his face smushed up against the glass of the backdoor, his eyes big with worry. Standing next to him George and Freddie shared identical faces of dismay.

"I suppose someone should go after her." Luna pointed out, while her husband tried very hard to pretend not to be there.

Hilary began to step forward, but with a raise of his hand, Teddy stopped her.

"No! _I'll _do it." he instructed, opening the door. "You stay here and talk to _him_," he instructed, indicating Harry. With a small smile, Luna stepped out the door after the small boy without him even noticing.

Teddy ran, full speed straight ahead, with no real clue where to go, as Luna quietly walked behind, never taking her eye off the boy. She didn't know him at all before the night had began, but thought that she might be able to help him more than those who did know him, as she had no clue as to what was best for him and therefore, would feel no need to tell him what to do.

They found Ginny, which didn't surprise either one of them in the least, but where they found her shocked Teddy just a bit. She was sitting on the grass, her back to them, at the very edge of the property.

"Do you realize," she said slowly, not turning around, "that if I take one more step, I might not be able to ever come back?"

Luna and Teddy just stood behind her, Teddy panting from his running, Luna quite serene in the moonlight.

"Do you know how hard that is? Not knowing if your family still loves you? I did it to myself, but I still blame them. Isn't that twisted?"

"No," Luna stated, quite sure of herself, "I hated my mum for blowing herself up, and that wasn't my fault or hers, really. It's just grief."

"I get mad at my parents." Teddy stated. "I want to make things better, but I don't know how. What would my dad do?"

"He'd probably give us all some chocolate." Ginny stated, but Teddy didn't get it.

"Ginny," Luna said quietly, "would you like some company?"

Ginny just nodded, and the two sat on either side of her.

"Teddy," Ginny said, breaking the silence, "don't ever end up like I did. Don't run away, because once you start, it's incredibly difficult to stop. Every time I have to deal with a big problem, I want to run, and I usually do. Feel like I'm rejected by the family? Run. Lose my fiancé? Run. Lose my only friend? Run. I never stop and think about the others I'm leaving behind till it's too late."

"They're your family, Gin, they all love you." Luna assured.

"But do they like me?" Ginny countered.

"I like you." Teddy offered, leaning against her arm. He was telling the truth, too. He could see why his godfather had been with her.

"I like you too. And not in the way of those nasty rumors they used to say about me at school." Luna added, leaning her head onto her friends shoulder.

Ginny sighed. "Well, I suppose this means I have no choice but to stay. I can't leave behind the only people who still like me."

"And you have to show your maturity through the wedding." Luna added.

"And there's gonna be cake!" Teddy finished.


	17. The Biggest of Days

I think I've made you wait long enough...here it is! The last chapter! (play or pretend to hear triumphant music here)

I really can't thank you enough for lasting this long, especially for those brave enough to make their opinions known (it might be anonymous, but it does have an enormous effect on me).

I hope to know if you find the ending to be satisfactory, or demand a sequel, pitch ideas for it, or yell at me for ending it the way I did if you hate it. This is your reality just as much as it is mine.

And now, without further rambles...read away.

* * *

_You are a better person than I anticipated. _Ginny's brain complimented herself, staring herself over in the mirror. Her hair was up, with well thought out curls falling from the twist that dominated the back of her head. Her make up was a bit too pink and happy for her taste, and the dress, well it was…

It was blue, that was for damn sure. A halter back with a skirt that puffed out with the help of a tutu like contraption underneath made it reach her knees. Her feet were confined to strappy gold stilettos that were going to be the death of her, and that was okay.

What was more important than what she was looking at was what she wasn't, all her tattoos, even the sun, were hidden through magic. Her nose and lip rings resting on her bedside table and her ears only holding three gold studs per lobe. She looked, well, pretty.

"You're an idiot." she assured her reflection before going to the other room to help the bride.

Ginny had been doing a very good of not making any eye contact all day long, after the previous nights adventure, and was more than willing to continue this, but as the evening brought on the wedding, she was expected to go into full blown MOH mode.

In her parents bedroom, Hilary already had her sobbing mother helping her, as her grandmother sat off in the corner, taking swigs from Grace's flask. Hermione and Mrs. Weasley were tirelessly fixing the flowers that were to be carried down the aisle, and no one paid any mind to Ginny's arrival. She was just fine with that, it gave her more time to stare at Hilary, who was wearing the biggest, fluffiest, whitest thing she'd ever seen. She looked a bit like a snowball, but lacey.

"Oh, Ginny!" Hilary broke the workers silence as she saw her maid of honor walk in. "You look so good!"

"Uh, yeah, you too, Hil." responded, lying through her teeth. On second thought, she looked more like a cake decoration.

"Ginny, did you get rid of them all?" Hermione asked, shocked.

"Only for tonight," Ginny sighed. Her mother made a noise that sounded a mysterious amount like a swear.

"That is so kind of you!" Hilary sighed, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Yeah, well, hope you like it, it's your wedding present." Ginny told her feet, for she was far too uncomfortable to look at anyone.

"What happened to the fun girl?" Hilary's intoxicated grandmother demanded, "The one that looked like she was just coming from a damn good party!"

"That'd be me," Ginny responded, looking up with a small wave.

"Oh," the old witch frowned, "What happened to yuh?"

"Mother," Hilary's mum, Helen, started, "Ginny looks very nice, much better without those fake tattoos," Hilary gave a nervous little giggle, she had told her parents all of those were fake to keep them from completely flipping out, "and she has been very good to Hilary, we like _this _look on her."

"I don't think she's as much fun this way." the old woman reiterated, not backing down.

"I'm with you, Henrietta," Ginny said with a small nod, surprised she had remembered the woman's name.

"Enough chatter, back to work!" Grace insisted, even though she hadn't done any work as of yet.

Ginny could see her mother beaming at her out of the corner of her eye, undoubtedly pleased that she looked so much like her daughter again.

"Remember, Harry," Teddy instructed, "even if this is your wedding, if you're mean, I will yell at you." Harry rolled his eyes, for the entire day, Teddy had been warning him against doing anything mean and upsetting Ginny.

"I got it, Teddy." Harry sighed, trying to button his cuff to no avail. Ron had to step in to help him.

"And what do you say when you see her, tattoos and all?" Teddy questioned.

"You look pretty." Harry stated dully.

"Oh, Harry, not on your wedding day!" George bushed as he walked into the room where men were getting ready. "I mean, I know I look good in a tux, but really!"

It felt like just a blink of an eye before everyone was on their way to the actual ceremony, the sun getting ready to set.

"Now, Harry," Hilary's father started, pulling him to the side, "I want you to know, I care very deeply for my little girl." at this time, her brother and cousin also joined in, "And just because I'm not walking her down the aisle, her whole independence thing, doesn't mean the three of us won't make you very sorry if you hurt her."

"Er, right." Harry croaked, his nerves jumping up about fifty notches at this.

On the other side of the house, Hilary pulled Ginny off to the side, and Ginny braced herself for a very tearful speech.

"Listen, Weasley," Hilary hissed, her voice uncharacteristically angry, "if you do anything to mess up my special day, I swear to Merlin I will rip every pretty red strand of hair out of your head. Got it?"

"Er, right." Ginny managed to get out. She wasn't exactly sure how she felt at this moment.

"Victoire has more flowers than me!" Dominique's young voice broke the silence.

"Only because she keeps spilling hers!" the other flower girl countered.

Hilary let out an airy laugh at this and went off, apparently to assist Fleur with the dueling flower girls. Ginny stood very still, not sure as to exactly what had just happened.

The other bridesmaids all lined up at the door, Hermione first, before Ginny had even realized what she was supposed to do.

"There you are!" Hermione hissed, looking flustered. Her dress was the same as Ginny's and showing more cleavage than she preferred, putting her in a foul mood. The flower girls were already making their way down the aisle, Teddy close behind with the rings as the men all stood up front at the alter. The candles twinkling all around them added to the drama and beauty of it all.

"Where's Hilary?" Grace asked, her eye brow arched.

"What?" Ginny gaped, she had just been there a second ago.

"The bride." Grace sneered.

"Oh, right, I'll go get her." Ginny gulped, turning round to where she'd just come from.

This was not good. The bedroom Hilary had been getting ready in was abandoned, and there was no sign of her in the restroom downstairs.

_They're all going to think I've killed her. _Ginny decided as she became convinced that the bride had run away. In a last ditch effort, Ginny opened the front door, hoping that the bride had literally run away and that she could catch her. Instead, she found something completely different.

There was Hilary, giant white dress and all, _snogging _Michael Corner. Unsure of what else to do, Ginny promptly slammed the door shut, her eyes bugging out like they wanted to flee from what she just saw, but her body was too shocked to move.

"Ginny?" Hilary squeaked, the door creaking open, Ginny took a tentative step back."No?" Ginny responded, hoping she'd somehow get away with this.

"I--I don't know what just happened, he just showed up while I was helping with the girls, and we stepped out to talk, he says he got an invitation and decided to come, and I don't know what happened!" Hilary cried out, flinging up her hands in desperation.

"You snogged him, that's what happened!" Ginny pointed out, although secretly relieved that she wasn't the one to ruin this wedding.

"Ginny, he showed up and I realized, I--I still love him, with more passion than I ever loved Harry, and he feels the same way! Ginny, Michael and I are leaving, together. Now."

"You can't do this to me!" Ginny cried out.

"I know, it--wait, you?"

"Yes, me! Do you know how hard I've worked on this bloody wedding?! How much work I've put into it?! And you're ruining everything so much with your refusal to go through with it! Will you please just marry somebody here today, so I can at least get some credit for all this?!" Ginny demanded, hands on her hips

"Uh, Gin, we're leaving now, and I'd really appreciate it if you'd tell everyone for me, I really have to get going. Thanks so much for everything, bye!"

Hilary pulled the door shut behind her, and by the time Ginny opened it again, the bride and Michael were gone.

_You can do this, _her mind assured her as made her way to the back, where a very large, elaborate wedding was waiting, _but I won't blame you if you fall and hit your head and die before having to._

Ginny pushed the back door open and the impatient looking audience all rose.

"Oh, never mind, it's not the bride, it's just my daughter." Mrs. Weasley commanded, and with a group sigh of frustration, everyone sat down. Hannah Abbott-Longbottom looked especially frustrated as it was rather difficult with her very pregnant belly to move around like this.

"Uh, Harry, can I talk to you alone for a minute?" Ginny asked nervously, wobbling on her heels.

"No." Harry stated, narrowing his eyes, "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Ginny objected. In response, Harry raised his left hand in a fist and put the back of it to his face, the words 'I must not tell lies' still visible in scar form. "It's upside down," Ginny told him, realizing that she was not going to come off as a good person at the end of all this.

"What's going on? Where's my daughter, what have you done to her?" Helen stood up, looking scandalized, people shifted in their seats uncomfortable all around, but no one gave any signs of wanting to leave.

"I haven't done anything!" Ginny insisted.

"Then where is she?" Hilary's father stood up now, showing his anger. "What have you done?!"

"I seriously have not done _anything_, so if everyone will just calm down for two _bloody _seconds I'll tell Harry what's going on and we can all--do whatever it is everyone here does!" Ginny snapped, this whole situation was getting on her nerves.

"No." Harry stated once again.

"No what?" Ginny demanded, not caring that she was turning red as everyone watched with morbid curiosity.

"No, I'm not going anywhere. You can say whatever you need to say in front of all of us."

"Are you mad?!"

"No, everyone here is either friend or family and have every right to know."

"Oh, how noble, but really, Harry, I think it'd be best if we went into the house for this."

"No, just tell me!"

"It's just that--"

"You don't even have something to say, do you? You just want to ruin everything like you always do! Always being difficult, always making unnecessary trou-"

"Hilary left!" Ginny finally snapped, not needing to hear a monologue dedicated to why she was a bad person right then.

"What?" Harry asked dumbly, his eyes big. He had a feeling that that was what had happened, but actually hearing it brought a sting he had not expected.

Ginny sighed, as everyone looked to her for more answers. "She left with Michael Corner. He showed up, said he had an invitation," the sudden memory of Luna not having an invitation after having passed it along flooded Ginny's mind, "and the two of them were talking…then snogging…then leaving…"

A very long minute ensued before the crack of Hilary's family apparating away filled the air, along with Grace and a few of the people who didn't know Harry, just Hilary.

"She left me?" Harry asked, completely shocked. "She left me at the altar?"

"You know, Ginny was left at the altar, perhaps you two should go and talk about that…" Molly Weasley gently told Harry, coming over to him from where she'd been sitting in the front aisle.

"My fiancé died you thoughtless, old hag!" Ginny spat, quite insulted. "Not the same thing! Not the same thing at all!"

"Yes, well, the point is you two can comfort each other!" Molly snapped.

In the middle of the crowd, Rolf leaned over to his wife, and quietly whispered, "What exactly just happened?"

"You owe me ten galleons." Luna responded serenely.

"I thought we only bet five!"

"Five for each. Five that Hilary'd leave with Corner, five that Mrs. Weasley would take this as a chance to push her daughter and Harry back together."

"Sometimes I think you're a seer secretly."

"Not a seer, I just pay more attention to the little things."

"You know, Harry," Teddy's voice broke into the crowd, "You're already dressed to get married, you might as well just marry Ginny now!"

"No!" Harry and Ginny chorused at the same time.

"Why not?" Teddy demanded, he didn't really feel like getting dressed up like this again.

"Harry, mate, just calm down," Ron soothed.

"I don't want to calm down! You don't understand, your wife didn't duck out of her wedding early!" Harry snapped. Hermione blushed, although she wasn't quite sure as to why.

"And she left with another man, remember." Ginny added. Several people openly glared at her for that.

"You're obviously upset, Harry, dear," Mrs. Weasley coaxed, "why don't you and Ginny go for dinner and talk about your anger?"

"No!" they chorused together again.

"I'll buy!" George offered, though no one paid any mind.

"What about lunch?" Mrs. Weasley offered.

"I'll buy that, too!"

Harry wavered a bit, but Ginny shook her head no, jaw clenched.

"Coffee, Gin-bug?" Mr. Weasley finally offered. He gave his only daughter a pleading look. A look that said 'don't be an idiot and let this opportunity and slip away and leave me with your broken hearted mother who will obsess on this topic till we're both dead' look.

"I like coffee." Ginny stated begrudgingly.

"Fine, we can get coffee or whatever." Harry stated, just as begrudgingly. He wasn't about to seem happier than she was about this whole situation.

"And after coffee?" Teddy asked, looking hopeful.

"Don't push your luck." Ginny instructed, raising an eyebrow.

"Let them start with coffee." Hermione told the boy, giving him an all knowing look.

Coffee. With Harry. And George paying. Well, it was a start.


End file.
